Pokemon Challenge Island
by Riolu929
Summary: This is a Total Drama Island Series-based story with 40 Pokemon ages 14-18 competing for 1 million dollars. Our host, Duskull, and co-host, Totodile, get to enjoy the pleasures of torturing the contestants. There are tons of plot twists, friendships, romances, alliances, betrayals, surprises and hilarious moments for all 40 Pokemon on the best new TV show, POKEMON CHALLENGE ISLAND!
1. Episode 1: Arrivals and Introductions!

All right, introductions for our campers! Not the most interesting episode-sorry-but important. Episode 2 is the first elimination.

Episode 1:

"Hello and welcome to our show! I am Duskull, your extremely amazing host, and this is my…eh…okay partner, Totodile!" shouted Duskull, a somewhat small, gray ghost Pokemon. His partner, Totodile, eyed him angrily.

"Eh-hem," Totodile said, clearing his throat. "Welcome to Pokemon Challenge Island. On this show-"

"Excuse me, Totodile. I'm the host, not you. You're just our co-host. As I was saying, or, well, was about to be saying, we will be making forty Pokemon, ages fourteen to eighteen, go through many challenges here. Some dangerous, some embarrassing, some tough, and most absolutely hilarious! Our campers will also be forming friendships, alliances, and…gasp…romances? Let's hope so, they make TV shows more dramatic. Welcome to Pokemon Challenge Island!"

"I'm the host, not you. You're just our co-host," mimicked Totodile. "Stupid Duskull."

...

The camera shifts to a small campsite with a line of many small cabins. Duskull and Totodile are standing there with two other Pokemon, one a medium-sized pink Pokemon with a long tongue and the other a very small green Pokemon with three green points on her head and red and blue flowers coming out of her hands.

Duskull stepped forwards "Okay, my lovely audiences. These are our staff members-other than myself and Totodile. Meet Lickitung, our chef," he said, gesturing at the pink Pokemon with the long tongue. "The quality of her food usually depends on her mood. Sometimes when she's in a bad mood, she'll put…um…bad stuff in it."

"Hey!" shouted the pink Pokemon, looking miffed. "Watch what you say or I'll put something in your food! You can't do that to me, your _only_ Pokemon with cooking experience!"

"Calm down!" said Duskull, exasperated." It's not like we're on live television or anything…wait, we actually are. Never mind. Moving along, our staff nurse, Roselia!"

Roselia smiled and waved. Lickitung, looking unsatisfied, vanished into the background.

"I'll finish up her intro, thanks!" said Totodile, shoving Duskull out of the way and putting on a wide smile for the audience. "This is our one and only staff nurse, so if anything happens to anyone when she's unable to work, well, tough luck. Don't get hurt too often."

"Um, actually, unless I get hurt myself, I'm pretty much always on duty. A lot of Pokemon get hurt on this island," Roselia stated.

"And that's it for our staff! Now come the competitors and the rule explanations. Enjoy, this will be the absolute best part of my day, knowing what I have in store for these campers!"

...

"And we're here! Welcome to Pokemon beach!" cried Duskull. "Our first boat in the distance! Who will be on it?"

A boat painted with the green, blue and red Pokemon Challenge Island logo painted on it rushed through the water, cutting a path in the sea towards the island.

Totodile caught the pause to let himself speak. "We have brought at least two Pokemon of each type to the island except Dragon. We only got one application for that. Really, Dragon-types? Send us more applications next time to be on what is going to be the coolest TV show ever! Pokemon!"

"Challenge!" called Duskull.

"ISLAND!" Both of them finished in what was clearly supposed to be a dramatic ending, but wasn't.

"Well, that failed," Totodile mumbled.

"Shut UP," whispered Duskull. "The boat?"

"Oh, right! On this boat appears to be our first contestant, Shieldon!"

A small Pokemon with a tan body got off; however, his most striking feature was that his head was shaped like a shield.

"Hello, Duskull and Totodile! I'm Shieldon. Hey, I'm really glad to be here. Thanks, Mom and Dad, and also you too Cranidos, and-"

"Next boat," interrupted Duskull.

Standing in the front of the boat dancing was a tall, pink Pokemon with large eyes and feet and thin, rabbit-like ears. She had a large smile on her face and appeared to be somewhat oblivious to the fact that she was about to go on a game show. When the boat docked, she continued dancing and bouncing her way over to Duskull, Totodile, and the newly arrived Shieldon to introduce herself.

"Hello, hello, hello, I'm Wiggly, Wiggly, Wigglytuff! I love fun and cookies and candy and muffins, and ooh, Duskull, I like your eye, It's so pretty and red and-"

"Move it, puffball!" Totodile said, pushing Wigglytuff back near Shieldon. She continued blankly dancing once she got there.

"No being mean to our contestants!" Duskull scolded angrily. Then he smiled. "Well, maybe a little bit…"

The horn of the next ship interrupted his thoughts. This one had a small brown Pokemon who seemed to be searching around. He was poised on his brown striped tail and had a small brown body. He looked to be one of the younger contestants. He seemed to spot the four Pokemon on the shore, and when his boat pulled up, he quickly got off.

"I'm Sentret," he said, walking up and shaking Duskull and Totodile's hands. "I don't really expect to win, but I'd like to try." With a final wave at the camera, he stood next to Shieldon.

"I like him. Finally, a contestant who doesn't have to tell their whole life's story," whispered Duskull to a grinning Totodile.

Another boat horn blared in the distance. On the front of this boat, a gray cat Pokemon with white paws was perched, lying down. She wore a jeweled necklace. While she was of average looks, her eyes had a hypnotizing intensity, like she could see into your soul.

The boat turned at the island. The cat Pokemon got off the boat daintily and introduced herself. "My name is Glameow. This is a real diamond, by the way. I'm here to win this competition, but if I make any friends on this competition, I'd be glad to share. My family's super rich." With a laugh that came out sounding like a meow, she walked on the opposite side of Wigglytuff.

Sentret looked at her distastefully. He didn't trust her, just by looking into her eyes. Duskull looked a bit surprised, and seemed distracted until Totodile nudged him and got started on the announcement of who would be on the next boat.

"Next up appears to be…" Totodile squinted. "I actually don't know yet."

A light yellow-green dinosaur Pokemon with a leaf on top of her head and a necklace of leaves around her neck came. Even before she started speaking, Glameow knew she wasn't going to like this Pokemon. Sentret, Shieldon, and Wigglytuff thought they might like her. Wigglytuff stopped dancing and waved.

To Duskull and Totodile, she said, "Hello! I'm Bayleef. I'd really just like to make some friends while here on the island. If you need any help, feel free to ask me." After she was done, she happily walked away and sat down next to Shieldon.

"Well, we have five contestants!" exclaimed Duskull. "Unfortunately, that leaves, like, thirty-five to go. Oh, yay. Well, here comes another boat. Let's see who it is!"

This boat carried the biggest Pokemon yet. It appeared to be a green and brown dinosaur Pokemon with something on its neck. As the Pokemon got closer, Bayleef could just make out bananas on his neck.

"Welcome, Tropius, to Pokemon Challenge Island," said Duskull, gesturing for Tropius to come off the boat. "Come here and talk with us."

As Tropius stepped off the boat, he tripped and fell face-first down to the ground. Bayleef rushed over to him and helped him up. "Are you okay?"

"Thanks. I'm fine now. I'm just a little clumsy," he said, looking up at her. "But thanks."

"No need. I'm always here for friends," she said, smiling back. Then she left and Tropius went to the camera.

"Well, uh, I think I could make it pretty far. My main thing is that I'm kind of clumsy. I hope I get over that soon, though. I think I'd make a good challenger, and I hope I get lots of friends like Bayleef."

Glameow snickered. "Come _on._ He won't make it a day if he tells everyone his weaknesses." Shieldon eyed her distastefully, but another incoming boat distracted everyone.

Another Pokemon was on a boat this time, a somewhat small, red insect Pokemon with a mustache. He seemed to be playing music…on himself.

He stepped off the boat and came towards the group, smiled and played a short little jingle by brushing one arm against the other, and walking towards Duskull and Totodile.

"Hello, Duskull and Totodile. My name is Kricketune, and I'm a musician. I can play almost all instruments, but my favorite is myself, by brushing one arm against the other. What did you think of it?" the musical bug Pokemon asked.

"Not bad," admitted Duskull. "For a Pokemon using itself as an instrument."

"Yay! Music!" shrieked Wigglytuff.

Satisfied, Kricketune relocated himself toward the audience somewhere near Glameow before another boat came in.

This one had a dark blue bird Pokemon on it, with an underbelly of white. She looked both brave and confident. Bayleef thought she looked like a good competitor. Kricketune shivered because he didn't like birds.

The Pokemon gracefully stepped off the boat, and moving toward the camera, said, "I'm Swellow. I'm here to win, so please don't get in my way. I love flying more than anything else, so if I win, I'll probably build a flying school for Pokemon learning to fly."

"Awesome," said Duskull, slightly sarcastically. "Now go with the crowd."

Swellow tossed her head to the side in anger and flew to the crowd next to Kricketune, who inched away in the direction of Sentret.

"Sorry," whispered Kricketune. "I really don't like birds." Sentret nodded sympathetically.

Another boat appeared on the horizon. This one contained a small, boxy pink and light blue Pokemon typing frantically on a laptop. He didn't glimpse up once.

"Uh…this should be Porygon, but I don't think he actually knows he's here," said Totodile. "Hey, PORYGON!" After a few more yells, Duskull and some of the crowd joined in, and he looked up.

He floated down off the boat, looking angered for some reason. "Hi, I'm Porygon, and you disturbed me while I was working on this complex mathematical formula. Don't do it again, okay? I didn't even want to be on this show."

"Why'd ya sign up then, pardner?" asked Duskull, putting on a fake Western voice. Porygon still looked annoyed.

"I didn't sign up for this. My friends signed _me _up without _my_ permission. Get it?"

"Sure, yeah, go in the crowd, the next boat's coming."

On this boat was an enthusiastic-looking fire monkey Pokemon with an extremely bright tail. He got off the boat and vigorously introduced himself.

"Hey, dudes. I'm Monferno. I'm pretty much on all my school sports teams, like football, basketball, and everything else, really. I know I can make it far. Monferno out!" he said, loudly and quickly.

While no Pokemon was exactly 'his type,' all the female Pokemon glanced at him, surprised by his good looks, except the always-oblivious Wigglytuff. Even Swellow, though she wasn't really 'in to' mammals.

Next, came a large purple Pokemon with muscles all over. This Pokemon actually scared Sentret. He saw a few other Pokemon shiver, too. Glameow, however, looked pleased. Swellow, as always, looked just arrogant, her expression fairly unreadable.

The Pokemon stepped in front of the camera and pointed at the crowd. "My name's Machoke, and I don't want anyone-and I mean anyone-to get in my way. That includes you two," he growled, pointing at Duskull and Totodile. "I will win this thing."

Shaken, Totodile took back the camera. "Next boat." Then he whispered in an undertone, "I kinda don't like him."

The next boat carried a very small orange Pokemon. He looked a bit like a baby chicken. He took small steps off the boat.

"H-hi. I'm Torchic. I-um, don't have anything to say," said the small orange Pokemon. He looked scared, and ran quickly to where the least-intimidating-looking Pokemon were-Shieldon and Sentret.

"Are you okay?" Sentret asked. Torchic nodded. "I'm just really scared. I-I've never done anything like this before."

"There's a first for everything. We should be friends," Shieldon added.

"O-okay," said Torchic. Sentret gave him an encouraging smile, which Torchic responded back to with a small one.

Duskull and Totodile snickered. "He won't make it past the fifth episode, max," Totodile said.

"Oh, we're so cruel! But this is a fun job, so who cares? I get paid and get to watch Pokemon get tortured," said Duskull.

"Another boat," warned Totodile.

On this boat, a small black fox-like Pokemon with a red tuft of hair sat at the front, patiently waiting for the island. As she approached, her eyes lit up and she grinned.

The boat docked and she got off. "Hey, everyone. I'm Zorua. I'm really excited to be here, and I know the money's mine!" she laughed. She went to stand in the crowd by Swellow.

Not far behind was another boat, this one carrying a bored-looking light blue Pokemon with a blue fin on the top of her head. She got off the boat, carrying a small suitcase.

"Wow, what a wonderful resort I've wound up at. I'm Marshtomp, and I can't wait to either win the one million dollars or go home," said the Mud Fish Pokemon tiredly.

"Hey, you can't always expect a five-star resort. Live with it," Duskull shot back.

"Whoopee," said Marshtomp, melting in with the crowd near Tropius and Bayleef, who were sitting right next to each other, talking.

After another minute, a boat appeared, carrying a black moth Pokemon with yellow wings with a single orange spot. He seemed extremely relaxed and content.

"I'm Mothim, dudes. And I like world peace. Peace is where it's at, my friends. Peace, and all will be good," said the Pokemon, as if in a daze.

"All right, dude. Move over there with our other peaceful contestants," said Totodile, snickering. "You're so 25 years ago."

The hippie moth gladly agreed, and sat next to Wigglytuff, who started talking animatedly to him. He only answered about half of her questions and otherwise sat entranced at something-apparently, the sky.

The next boat blew in with a chilly breeze. A black bird Pokemon sat, clutching a black gangster-like hat on his head. His belly was white. He had an air of mystery about him. Glameow immediately knew she wanted him on her team.

The Pokemon stepped off the boat. Duskull and Totodile went over to meet him.

"Hello. I'm Honchkrow, and I am here to win this. I'm sure I'd be able to find some good allies. That is all," he said. Glameow watched gleefully as he came toward her. He had answered courteously enough, but she knew someone with a ruthless spirit when she saw them, and Honchkrow and Machoke were the only ones so far that had that. However, Honchkrow was more her style-someone she could work with.

She wondered if Honchkrow was thinking the same thing.

Next, in the distance, another boat was spotted, this one with a blue ghost Pokemon with big eyes and a red necklace. When she got off the boat, everyone stopped and stared.

The Pokemon was a Misdreavus, but like none anyone had ever seen. She had longer hair than a normal Misdreavus, and a striking red necklace. But what was really odd were her eyes. Most Misdreavus had low, sarcastic eyes, but her eyes were round and very beautiful, and also, oddly enough, blue, something that rarely occurred on a Misdreavus. All the male Pokemon were astounded, and all the females jealous.

She went to the camera and said, shyly, "Er…hi. I'm Misdreavus, and I was just kind of looking for some adventure, and um, yeah, I'll just go now," she said when she noticed Duskull smiling stupidly at her. Bayleef offered her a seat by her and Tropius, and Tropius was able to ignore most of her charms. The three started talking.

Next up, a small, blue Pokemon that had characteristics of dogs and wolves but stood like a human came down from his boat. He walked confidently over to Duskull and Totodile.

"Uh, hey. I'm Riolu. I'd just like to be here, well, for the money obviously, but also because I'm interested in making some new friends, and these Pokemon seem pretty awesome, so...thanks for inviting me," he said. As he walked away, he noticed Duskull hadn't been paying much attention because he was still gazing dumbly at Misdreavus. Totodile slapped Duskull, and Riolu nodded in thanks, then walked over to sit somewhere near Marshtomp, Monferno, and Swellow.

The next boat carried a small yellow mouse-like Pokemon with a lightning bolt tail. He was watching the island interestedly.

When he got to the cameras, he said "Hello, I'm Pikachu. I have no opening speech-pathetic, right? Anyway, I'll just go now." Duskull and Totodile looked pleased at not having to sit through another interview. Pikachu walked away and sat near Riolu.

Next up was a small, white and blue rodent-like Pokemon with a long tail that was dancing up and down on the deck of the boat. As soon as the boat docked, she jumped out and sped towards Duskull and Totodile, and shouted in an extremely fast voice: "Hi, my name's Pachirisu, I'm 14 years old, I like coffee, I always drink it, if I win I'll use all my money to buy more coffee so I can be more hyper!" Then she sped away towards the audience, sitting next to Zorua, who inched away from her. Duskull called to her. "Hey, Pachirisu. You know we don't have any coffee on the island, right?"

She laughed mischievously. Duskull shrugged and turned to Totodile, who was already pointing at the next boat.

The next boat carried a yellow Pokemon with red circles on his cheeks and blue boxing gloves. He was hitting a punching bag he had strapped to the boat, but stopped when he got close to the island. He approached Duskull and Totodile to begin. "Hey, I'm Makuhita. I'm the strongest Pokemon here, hands down, and that's all you need to know about _me._" He strolled away and placed himself near Kricketune.

"Well, since no boat is on the horizon, now seems like a fabulous time to make an announcement, right, Totodile?" asked Duskull.

"Right!" Totodile answered.

"Good! All right, it seems that we have nineteen more contestants to introduce. Slightly less than half. We'll try to take them quickly."

On the next boat was Numel, a tan camel Pokemon who was sleeping when he arrived. He had to be woken up for his interview, but all he said was that he's just lazy. After that came Liepard, the dark cat Pokemon, who Glameow definitely liked-she could tell that Liepard was a plotter too, and also a fellow cat. She desperately wanted to be on the same team as her. Torchic, on the other hand, did not like Liepard-he almost fainted when he saw her.

After that was the fluffy, cottony, and mischievous Grass-type prankster, Whimsicott, who was clearly smart, but also had a sense of humor. Almost at the same time Whimsicott's boat arrived was the boat of the Goth Pokemon, Gothorita, who betrayed very little emotion. Many Pokemon felt uncomfortable around such a secretive Pokemon. Next were the self-proclaimed 'inseparable twins,' Plusle and Minun. They both gave their interviews at the exact same time, saying the exact same things. It was like a strange harmony, because Plusle, the male, had a lower voice and Minun, the female, had a higher voice.

Following the long interviews of Plusle and Minun was Haunter, a well-mannered, ghostly magician. He performed a trick for the camera and sat by Whimsicott. Afterwards came the tough tomboy wolf Mightyena. In Pikachu's opinion, she seemed nice enough, but like she'd be a good teammate. He hoped he'd get her on his team. Then came the cold and lonely Froslass. She ended up sitting by Gothorita, who seemed like a good companion for her. Bayleef, who watched Froslass as she sat down, thought the two might make good teammates.

Sneasel, the show's second Ice-type, came next. Shieldon noticed that he seemed okay, but a little sneaky. He wondered if Sneasel would be a dangerous enemy, and he made a mental note not to find out. After that came Buneary, another cute Pokemon who almost everyone was attracted to. She was content to sit with Zorua, who seemed to become her good friend almost immediately. After Buneary came the bratty Qwilfish, who complained about everything and treated everyone like they were worthless. She disgusted Kricketune, who tried to value everything about everybody, good or bad, and look on the bright side of life. Next was Buizel, the attractive sea weasel Pokemon which most of the girls ended up falling in love with immediately. He walked over and stood by Buneary, who looked thrilled.

After him came the extremely pretty Kirlia, who seemed very quiet and shy. She went to stand next to Whimsicott. After that came the wise and mysterious Dragonair. Even though she was a teenager like all the other Pokemon, she possessed an air of mystery that no one else had. Then came Munchlax, the ever-cheerful big eater Pokemon, who had brought a bag of snacks bigger than himself with him. Then, the next contestant, a Mawile came. Mawile was pretty-not as stunningly as Misdreavus or Kirlia-and seemed like she'd make an easily popular contestant. Afterward was Maractus, the talkative cactus Pokemon who, Duskull noted, said 'OMG' waaaay too much. Finally came Onix, the giant rock snake with anger management issues.

After all those interviews, the camera turned back to Duskull and Totodile. Duskull finished up. "So, everyone, now that you're all here, it's time for your first challenge tomorrow! Please come back, we'd love to have you! Thanks one and all! Good-bye for today."

"See ya next episode," said Totodile. "Oh, this is gonna be great…"

...

So that's it for episode 1. Intros. Admittedly, not the most interesting chapter. But you got to know our competitors a bit, yay! If anyone needs it, I'll put a description of our characters here for your benefit, since some of them were kind of ignored. Er, you can also vote in my poll if you want? That's what's going to help me decide the winner.

Staff:

Duskull: The showy host who likes being better than Totodile.

Totodile: The co-host who doesn't like his position.

Lickitung: The chef who gets angry when her food is insulted.

Roselia: The calm, friendly, and helpful island nurse, doctor, and any other job medical.

Contestants:

1. Shieldon (Male): Basically, the all-around nice guy. Sometimes isn't very careful, though. Enjoys ramming into things.

2. Wigglytuff (Female): The...uh...weird one who has no idea what's usually going on.

3. Sentret (Male): The small but brave one. Fairly well liked by his competitors but isn't seen as a threat.

4. Glameow (Female): Rich and spoiled, but also very manipulative. Less violent than some of my other villains (Liepard?)

5. Bayleef (Female): Everyone's favorite friendly, leafy dinosaur! Likable and sympathetic.

6. Tropius (Male): The extremely large and clumsy one, but friendly and likable enough. Probably one of my personal favorites.

7. Kricketune (Male): The musical bug who plays every single freaking instrument known to man. Yep, it's Kricketune!

8. Swellow (Female): The arrogant, overconfident, and somewhat popular bird. Not a bad Pokemon, but sometimes has a tendency to provoke others.

9. Porygon (Male): The computer addicted Pokemon. Which makes sense, really, he was born from a computer. Not much is really known about him, actually.

10. Monferno (Male): The energetic and friendly jock. Really does not like water, the most out of any of the Fire-types.

11. Machoke (Male): The strong and powerful island bully. Probably going to be used as a 'minion' to someone strategic.

12. Torchic (Male): The timid chicken Pokemon. Makes friends with Sentret and Shieldon but is still scared of everything and everyone.

13. Zorua (Female): The confident, calm, and friendly fox Pokemon. Small, but a strong competitor.

14. Marshtomp (Female): The sarcastic and bored one. The only reason she's here is to win.

15. Mothim (Male): The kind of strange moth hippie. Obviously very peaceful, which is probably a bad thing on this show.

16. Honchkrow (Male): The polite but tricky dark crow Pokemon. Definitely going to be a dangerous competitor.

17. Misdreavus (Female): The beautiful ghost Pokemon who simply wants to be treated normally.

18. Riolu (Male): The smart, friendly, and athletic Pokemon. Also a personal favorite. Not based off of me, I just like Riolu and chose it as my username.

19. Pikachu (Male): Basically a normal, average Pokemon. Wants to make new friends.

20. Pachirisu (Female): The dangerously hyperactive coffee-addicted one. Unlike Wigglytuff, though, she's actually fairly intelligent.

21. Makuhita (Male): The macho Pokemon who's always proud of his muscles.

22. Numel (Male): The lazy one who does essentially nothing.

23. Liepard (Female): Another manipulative cat, but more prone to violence. Doesn't tend to 'hide her dark side' as much as Glameow or Honchkrow.

24. Whimsicott (Female): The island prankster. Fairly popular because it's hard not to like her.

25. Gothorita (Female): The quiet Pokemon who says very little and reveals less about her emotions. Is there more to her than meets the eye?

26. Plusle (Male): The male inseparable twin and Minun's sister. Katie and Sadie anyone?

27. Minun (Female): The female inseparable twin and Plusle's brother. Katie and Sadie anyone?

28. Haunter (Male): A well-mannered (but secretly fun-loving) magician who enjoys performing.

29. Mightyena (Female): The tough tomboy wolf. Good to have as a friend, but dangerous as an enemy. Which group will she fall into for our cast?

30. Froslass (Female): Quiet, cold, and lonely, not willing to talk much.

31. Sneasel (Male): Very sneaky competitor, possibly willing to trade between sides if offered the right deal.

32. Buneary (Female): The cute but not smart competitor. Based off of Lindsay from TDI.

33. Qwilfish (Female): The brat who likes provoking other people for no apparent reason. A villain, but not a leader.

34. Buizel (Male): The attractive surfing sea weasel. Buneary takes a liking to him immediately. There seems to be something different about him, though.

35. Kirlia (Female): A quiet, shy, and pretty dancer. Likely to fall in love with someone but I don't know who. Suggestions?

36. Dragonair (Female): Wise and mysterious. Seriously nothing else is known about her.

37. Munchlax (Male): The big eater of the series. The most obvious choice for this position.

38. Mawile (Female): A popular Pokemon who may be able to get info from whoever she wants to.

39. Maractus (Female): The talkative cactus Pokemon. Annoying, but not mean.

40. Onix (Male): The giant rock snake with a huge body but huger anger management problems.

Now that those summaries are finally over, please review my story! This is my first FanFiction, although I've written several other stories, and I'm eager to hear your feedback.


	2. Episode 2: The Dive of Destiny!

Well, we're starting Episode 2! First elimination ceremony! Excited? I thought so! I am too.

Episode 2:

The camera focuses in on our host, Duskull, and the co-host, Totodile. Duskull starts the show.

"Hello, everyone! Welcome to Camp…um…Duskull. This is the-"

Duskull is interrupted by Totodile. "What he means is the Camp's actual name is too hard to pronounce, so we're calling it Camp PCI. Right, Duskull?"

Duskull responds with a glare, then continues. "Our contestants are all in the main dining hall getting food from our chef, Lickitung. We're going to burst in there and surprise all of them. I believe she's serving waffles today…with a twist. Don't ask what that means."

...

"Hey, Minun. What do you think our first challenge is going to be?" asked Plusle.

"I don't really know," she said. "Maybe it'll be a dance contest? We're good dancers."

"I hope you're right," he said. Then they both turned around as the door to the dining hall opened, and Duskull said, "BOO!" very loudly. Kirlia, next in line, dropped her tray. Munchlax ran to the back of the dining hall. Swellow took a defensive position. However, Maractus was extremely unlucky-she fell off her chair and got hit by the mixing spoon Lickitung had been serving with and had accidentally thrown, now covered in syrup.

"OMG, I'm, like, totally the unluckiest girl in the world," she complained.

"Suck it up," advised Honchkrow. "It's gonna get worse." Maractus made a face at him.

"Now, campers, report to the campfire towards the center of camp. I could have contacted you via the loudspeaker, but because that's boring, I needed to do something to wake you up. And something interesting. Don't expect this privilege every day," Duskull said, then floated away with the spatula.

"Getting scared is a privilege?" Marshtomp asked. "You learn something new every day." Riolu, next to her, agreed.

...

"All right, everyone. I'm going to explain the rules to you. How fun!" Duskull said happily. "Totodile here will just be…Totodile."

Totodile grumbled something.

"First of all, we have 8 cabins. There is enough room for you to share your cabin with four Pokemon of the same gender and team, meaning five Pokemon per cabin. The cabins to the left are for Team 1, which will be the Dangerous Dialgas, and the cabins to the right are for the Perilous Palkias. Male cabins will always be north, and female cabins will always be south. There you have it. Cabin assignments will be made after Team assignments, but unlike Team assignments, you have a little choice with these. But only a little."

"I have split you into two teams, each with 10 male Pokemon and 10 female Pokemon. I will not accept requests for team changes without good reason…on second thought, I might. Consider it. But probably not act on it. Don't push your luck."

"The Teams are used for some challenges, but not all. Their main purpose is for when we vote. There will be an elimination ceremony at the end of every round. It will be the first opportunity we have to get here after a challenge, unless we can wait until night to heighten the suspense, which I try to do," said Duskull, laughing evilly. "Each person can vote once, and only once. I have ways of knowing who votes twice. Don't do it."

"At each elimination ceremony, I will give out Pokemon Challenge Island ribbons. Whoever does not receive a ribbon has been voted off by the most people. Unfortunately for some of you, you can't just vote for whoever you want off your team. I will be giving some people invincibility, meaning that if they do well enough at a challenge, they can't be voted off. They will automatically receive ribbons, and any votes against them are wasted, so don't vote for people I give invincibility to."

"If you become the unfortunate Pokemon who has to leave this island, that dock behind me," Duskull says, pointing behind him, "will have the Boat of Losers waiting there to take you to Pokemon Loser Island. You don't want to go to Pokemon Loser Island. You want to win."

"When we get a low enough total of campers, we will have what's called the merge. It's when we take away teams, to make it harder or easier on you. Everyone will be working on their own, unless you still have an alliance member or other player who wants to work with you as long as possible. We do the merge when twelve players are left. Most of you will not make it to the merge," says Duskull, letting the words hang in the air for suspense. "And the one who gets out before the merge is lucky number thirteen. How nice."

"We also discontinue voting after there are only five people left. It's not a big enough number. From then, who gets out is based purely on skill and luck, not how your fellow competitors like you."

"Oh, and almost last but not almost least, our prize is 1 million dollars. We're pretty darn rich," cackles Duskull. "Only one more thing to tell you."

...

Duskull leads the campers to the camp shed. "This is the area for confessionals. Sure, it's small, but you'll all want to go here. This is the place where you can let out your thoughts and feelings with nobody finding out about them, except me, Totodile, Lickitung, Roselia, and the rest of the world that's not on this show. Everyone on the show will not see it. Okay? Now go in and let out your inner thoughts and feelings, and when you're done, we will start the challenge and receive team assignments. All right, have fun!" called Duskull, running to where he last saw Totodile.

**...**

**Torchic looks around. "Well, um, I guess I'm the first person to do one of these. I really hope I get on the same team as Sentret and Shieldon. They're my best friends so far."**

**...  
**

**Munchlax is jumping up and down. "You know, Lickitung's food wasn't bad today! I ate fourteen waffles with syrup!"**

**...  
**

**Wigglytuff sits down, thinking. "I wonder what the first challenge will be." A smile comes across her face. "I hope it's fun!"**

**...  
**

**Liepard sits on the floor, curled up. "I'm the first person in here who's not a total ****_idiot_****," she purrs. "You know, it's a bit bigger in here than I thought it would be. Anyway, I want to ally with Glameow and maybe Honchkrow. If I can't get either of them, I could tolerate some others. But there are too many do-good Pokemon here. I'll get one of them out first."**

**...  
**

**Mawile sits on the lone chair in the shed. "I have an advantage of being popular, but no one notices that at every turn I'm plotting against who I could get out. I'm a lot smarter than they'd think. They're all going to get out except the ones ****_I_**** like," she says, tilting her head arrogantly.**

**...  
**

**Pikachu is standing outside the room with the door open. "Uh, sorry…I'm not here for a confessional. Just to see what it's like in here. That's all." Then he leaves.**

**...  
**

"Well, now that we're done with that," said Totodile, now at the campfire with Duskull, "I'll let our host get on to the challenge," he said. Makuhita noticed that he spit out the word 'host' like a disease. He spit out the name of his rival Machop that way too. Blech. Machop was disgusting. Luckily, Makuhita could escape from him here, and maybe get rich for it.

"You mean picking teams, my good Totodile," said Duskull. "Okay. I've chosen our 20-Pokemon teams. They will each have 10 male Pokemon and 10 female Pokemon. Any questions? No? Good."

Duskull looked at his paper, then continued. "On our first team, the Dangerous Dialgas, we have: Zorua," letting her walk over to the left side of him, where the Dialgas' flag was, "Machoke, Marshtomp, Minun," he continued. Duskull couldn't help glancing at the frozen Minun, who seemed scared to death that Plusle wouldn't be on her team. Zorua went back and helped Minun along to the Dialgas. She looked depressed but continued to listen.

Duskull resumed his list-reading. "Honchkrow, Munchlax, Kricketune, Glameow, Makuhita, Sentret, Numel," he read, giving the contestants time to walk over to the Dialgas' sign, especially the slow Munchlax and Numel. The Ghost Pokemon glanced at the worried Plusle, then continued his list. "Pachirisu, Swellow, Sneasel, Mawile, Plusle," he said, letting the last word set in for impact. Plusle sped over to the other side faster than even Pachirisu. Duskull finished his list with the last four Pokemon. "Kirlia, Whimsicott, Torchic, and Maractus."

Torchic visibly let out a sigh of relief at being on Sentret's team, but felt bad because Shieldon was his friend too. He looked back and saw Shieldon giving him an encouraging smile. He went and stood by Sentret, hoping that Shieldon made it to the merge.

Totodile took the list to read the Palkias' players. "All right, I get to read this part because I'm a Water-type and so is Palkia. Listen up," he said. All remaining Pokemon's heads turned. "Even though it's clear that the ones of you still standing over there are our Palkias, I'll read your list quickly anyway. Wigglytuff, Shieldon, Liepard," he read. Liepard groaned when she saw Wigglytuff. "Tropius, Dragonair, Mothim, Mightyena, Porygon, Gothorita, Misdreavus, Riolu, Monferno, Onix, Bayleef, Pikachu, Froslass, Buneary, Buizel, Haunter, and Qwilfish! Congrats on a pretty awesome team."

"Okay, now for the challenge. Whoever wins it will pass the elimination ceremony. Whoever loses will have a visit from the elimination fairy. This is what we'll do-it's been planned for, like, forever, and the game show that gave us this idea is a great inspiration. You'll all be jumping off a cliff and into the water below. If you land in the 20-foot-wide hoop, you get two points and invincibility. If you land outside it, you get one point. If you land on the ground below, you get no points. If you choose not to jump, you also get no points, but you get to wear a Torchic hat because you're a chicken. Deal? Let's go!"

**...**

**Monferno looks nervous. "I hate to sound like such a sissy, but being a Fire-type, water really isn't my thing. I don't know if I'm going to be able to do this challenge or not. I guess I'll decide while I'm there."**

**...  
**

**Froslass looks thoughtful. "I can slow my jump because I float, and I have some swimming experience. I'll go for it."**

**...  
**

**Buizel sits on the chair, smug. "I know I can do this. I'm a swimmer and a surfer. And if I'm lucky, it can win me some support from the girls and from possible alliance members. I still plan to be one of the top players."**

**...  
**

**Onix growls at the camera. "Why, of all things, did it have to be a water challenge? I'm going to slam Duskull and Totodile with my tail until they change it. GRAAAA!" he shouts. Then a crunching noise is heard, and suddenly he looks sheepish.**

**"Uh…the chair broke. Yeah, I'm getting out of here now."**

**...  
**

**Haunter wanders in to the confessional building. "Hey, um, who broke the chair? Well, anyway, I just wanted to get in here to say that, for the record, I'm actually a pretty good diver."**

**...  
**

**Torchic sighs at the camera, looking both sad and angry. "Torchic hats? Really? And they had to rub it in because it's a water challenge. Oh, my life gets so weird sometimes…why is the chair broken? I'll take this out of here…"**

**...  
**

**"The Torchic hats thing was mean to Torchic, although Duskull and Totodile probably weren't thinking about it at the time," Marshtomp admitted. Then a grin crossed her face. "It was pretty hilarious, though. Ha!"she laughed. "Hilarious."**

**...  
**

The campers gathered at the edge of the cliff Duskull had directed them to. Sneasel looked off. He wasn't really afraid, but he knew that some of his teammates were. He looked up as Totodile said something."

"I'd suggest one of you starting. Dialgas, you first."

Before he had even finished the sentence, Marshtomp ran and dived off the super-steep cliff, landing exactly in the middle of the circle. "Two points!" called Duskull.

Marshtomp swam to the beach, far down from the cliff, and waited for the next contestant. Pachirisu dashed forward and essentially fell off the cliff. Because of her bad timing, Pachirisu scored only 1 point.

Following Pachirisu's dive were Machoke, scoring two points, Makuhita, also scoring two, Sentret, getting one, Maractus, with two, and Mawile, who landed just outside the hoop, but still not inside for two points.

After Mawile's dive, Numel came up to Duskull, saying, "I'll take my Torchic hat now. I don't feel like doing it," he said, yawning.

"All right, said Duskull, passing him one. Numel carried it in his mouth, but was too lazy to put it on.

Munchlax tried to make the dive, but was scared of heights and also took a chicken hat. Glameow almost didn't do the dive (as a cat, she hated water), but did it and got one point. Sneasel did an almost perfectly aimed dive, scoring two, and Swellow followed with the same score. Kricketune dived, but hit the edge of the cliff and got zero. Luckily, except for minor bruising, he was okay.

Next, Whimsicott floated down for one. Plusle and Minun dived together, both hitting the beach and getting zeroes. They, like Kricketune, were okay. Kirlia made up for some bad scores by gracefully landing in the hoop. Honchkrow swooped down for a two as well. Zorua made a decent jump and got another point. The last person to go was Torchic. He whimpered. "Do I have to?" he asked quietly. Duskull gestured to the pile of Torchic hats. After seeing them, Torchic defiantly decided to do the jump.

"Three, two, one," he said, then jumped. Less than a second later, he realized he didn't want to and tried to grab onto the cliff, but couldn't. He went into the water and scored a one. Then he accidentally started drowning.

"Aaah! Help!" he screamed. Swellow swooped down from above and carried him to shore.

"Thanks," he managed weakly.

"Don't mention it," she said, winking.

He blushed, but she walked away. Totodile counted the point total, and whispered it to Duskull, who wouldn't announce it until after the Palkias dived.

**...**

**Monferno looked at the camera, worried. "With Torchic having dived, this really puts more pressure on me to do it. I just don't know if I can," he said, downcast.**

**...  
**

**Shieldon looked at the camera admiringly. "Torchic was really brave. Even if we got put on opposite teams, we're still friends, and I'll definitely admire him for it."**

**...  
**

"All right, Palkias! Jump!" said Duskull.

Qwilfish was the first to jump, obtaining a flawless 2. Following her were Buizel, Haunter, and Froslass, who also got all perfect scores. Buneary managed a 1. Tropius jumped next, but hit a rock, obtaining zero points. Several competitors looked down to see if he was okay.

"Yes," he weakly replied.

Porygon accepted a chicken hat after explaining that he wasn't sure how he would react to water. Onix did the same. Misdreavus did a dive that just landed inside of the circle. Mightyena got a 1-pointer. Pikachu and Bayleef, the next divers, also got ones. Riolu got a two. Wigglytuff dived but landed on the beach. Mothim managed to get a decent 1. To the surprise of all her fellow competitors, Gothorita got a perfect two. Dragonair followed with another two. Liepard refused to get her fur wet, put was pushed in by the charging Shieldon, obtaining a one instead. She glared at Shieldon as he dove as she swam to shore. Shieldon almost hit the beach, but managed to land in the water, getting a one. Monferno backed away. "I can't do it," he said despairingly. Duskull tossed him a chicken hat.

Totodile finished calculating the point totals, then announced them. "Dangerous Dialgas, your total score was twenty-three. Perilous Palkias, you had…" everyone held their breath. "twenty-two. See you at the elimination ceremony, Palkias," said Duskull, grinning.

**...**

**Liepard shakes her fur, but is still soaking wet. "It's got to be Shieldon who goes. He's shown us all that he's careless. I won't let him stay in."**

**...  
**

**Shieldon looks guiltily at the camera. "I didn't actually _mean _****to push Liepard in. It just sort of happened. I wasn't looking, but she stepped in the way…sorry, Liepard, but it was an accident. I mean it."**

**...  
**

**Riolu stares at the camera, thinking. "I have invincibility, and so do quite a few other members of our team. So we're safe…it's an interesting idea, especially if the Pokemon you wanted to vote off gets a two. I need to see if I can get some Pokemon to vote with me. That seems like a smart move."**

**...  
**

**Buneary peers from side to side, looking around. "I only got one point. I hope I don't get eliminated," she says, scared.**

**...  
**

"All right, welcome to the first Pokemon Challenge Island Elimination Ceremony!" says Duskull brightly, holding a bunch of blue-and-green ribbons with 'Pokemon Challenge Island' written on them. "Each of you, except one, will receive one of these. Before we start voting, I'll warn you that you cannot vote for the following Pokemon: Froslass, Dragonair, Haunter, Riolu, Gothorita, Qwilfish, Misdreavus, and Buizel. If I were you, I'd vote for someone who's not one of them. It'd be a waste if you did."

"Excuse me Duskull," said Totodile, pushing the ghost out of his way. "Keep in mind that your teammates Porygon, Tropius, Onix, Wigglytuff, and Monferno got you _no _points. They would be obvious choices to vote for. If none of them are for you, you could still vote for Bayleef, Mothim, Mightyena, Buneary, Liepard, Pikachu, and Shieldon. Now, get started voting!"

**...  
**

**Tropius stares at the camera."I know I'm in a bad position to vote, considering that I might get out and all, but I voted for Porygon. I really don't trust him. I wanted to see if some other Pokemon would agree with me. Bayleef voted for Onix, but I got Misdreavus to vote for Porygon with me. She doesn't trust him either."**

**...  
**

**Buizel has his arms crossed, sitting on the chair. "Liepard talked some Pokemon into voting with her against Shieldon. Qwilfish doesn't like Shieldon, and Mightyena just thinks that if he does something like that again, he could be a threat. At least four of us are voting for him, maybe more if we're lucky."**

**...  
**

**Gothorita stares into the mirror in the side of the shack. "I don't like it," she says, somewhat quietly, "but I had to vote for Tropius. He's just clumsy. I think I'm the only Pokemon voting for him, so maybe I'm wasting my vote, but a clumsy Pokemon on a team is just not helpful. Sorry, Tropius," she says, looking up.**

**...  
**

**Pikachu sits on the chair, looking excited. "I'm voting for Onix. I don't like him-his anger makes him kind of a bully. I know Riolu and Bayleef are with me, and I heard Wigglytuff arguing with Mothim, trying to get him to vote for Onix too. He's just too dangerous."**

**...  
**

**Shieldon sits on the chair, looking at the floor with a worried expression on his face. "I'm voting for Liepard-I don't want her to try to get revenge on me! I don't know if anyone else is voting for her, though, and I think she gathered some Pokemon up to vote for me, like Buizel and Qwilfish. As far as I've heard, no one's voting against Bayleef, Buneary, or Pikachu, and Porygon's the only person I've heard who might vote against Mightyena, but he was leaning towards Mothim. I don't really get why they'd vote Mothim off, but…" His voice trails off. "I hope it's not me getting off."**

**...  
**

**Haunter stares at the camera. "My vote's for Mothim. He's just too peaceful to help us here-we can't win with players like him and Wigglytuff on our team. They're just not helpful," he says. He pauses. "My original vote was going to be for Monferno, but I can't fault him for being a Fire-type. After all, if I were a Fire-type, I wouldn't have done it either. I hope too many Pokemon don't vote against him," Haunter finished, then left the confessional room.**

**...  
**

**Onix snarls at the camera. "I'm voting Monferno off. I don't like his attitude and his confidence. He's just a wimp when it comes to water. I don't like him."**

**...  
**

**Froslass stares at the camera intently. "I think Wigglytuff has to go. She doesn't take the game seriously enough," she says coldly. "It's not personal, but she won't be the winner, and anyone can see it. I just don't think she's a good addition to our team. Sorry, Wigglytuff," she says, before leaving.**

**...  
**

"All right, everyone! I have all the votes!" called Duskull, motioning everyone to look at him. "Totodile, do the honors."

"Gladly," smirked Totodile. "All right, first ribbons go to: Froslass, Dragonair, Haunter, Riolu, Gothorita, Qwilfish, Misdreavus, and Buizel. You were already invincible, as I said before."

The Pokemon all walked up to claim their ribbons, then sat down back in their seats, leaning forward. Totodile continued. "Receiving no votes against them, these Pokemon may also come to get ribbons: Bayleef, Buneary, Pikachu, and Mightyena."

The Pokemon walked forwards. Mightyena, who had known that Porygon might vote against her, breathed a sigh of relief, and sat back down with the others.

"Receiving only one vote against them: Tropius and Monferno," said Totodile loudly. Monferno looked confused, then happy. He had expected to go home this episode, but for some reason Pokemon just hadn't voted against him. He noticed Onix glaring from the back corner for some reason and was startled. He'd have to watch out for Onix.

"These Pokemon had two votes each: Porygon, Wigglytuff, and Liepard. None of them will be going home today, either," said Totodile. Liepard calmly walked up to accept the ribbons, sitting down next to Buizel and Onix.

Onix, Shieldon, and Mothim all looked around nervously. Duskull whispered to Totodile, "Okay, Shieldon I might have expected, but not Mothim or Onix. What's up?"

Totodile looked at the votes, then frowned. "Duskull, we have a tie. They each received four votes against them. What do we do?"

Duskull frowned, then said, "I know." He called out to all the Pokemon.

"Everyone, Onix, Shieldon, and Mothim each received four votes against them. You'll all get to vote again, this time only for one of them. I'll hand out the papers, then we'll vote again. Happy voting!"

Shieldon frantically looked at Riolu and Pikachu, next to him. "Guys, you're…you're not voting for me, are you?"

Riolu smiled comfortingly. "Of course not. You're our friend. We're voting for Onix, right, Pikachu?" he said. "Yep," said Pikachu.

"Th-thanks! I mean it!" said Shieldon. "I was going to vote for Onix too. He scares me, like Liepard. If they work together, that could be bad."

Meanwhile, Liepard sat talking to the Pokemon who she managed to get to vote with her. "You all voted for him, right?" she purred at Buizel, Qwilfish, and Mightyena. They all nodded. "Let's go find other people who might vote for Shieldon. It's easier now that the choice is limited,"

"I will vote for Shieldon," said Gothorita. The other Pokemon all turned around in surprise. "It's not that I don't think that he's a good Pokemon, but if he wasn't paying attention and knocked Liepard off the cliff, well, it could happen again, to any of us. My original vote was for Tropius for the same reason."

Wigglytuff and Mothim sat in a corner, worried. "Mothim, why would they vote you off? You're so likable," said Wigglytuff, eyes wide. "I can't understand why anyone would take you off either."

Mothim, on the other hand, did not look at all worried. He wore a necklace with a peace sign on it, and held it up for Wigglytuff to see. "We must be at peace, with everyone, but especially ourselves. If I get out, remember that, Wigglytuff."

"Okay," she said quietly. On her paper, she wrote down 'Onix' for the second time-she wanted him out because he was a bully.

As the last person (Tropius) dropped his vote into Duskull's hand, Duskull whistled for everyone's attention. "All right, everybody! The votes! Let's see, the first ribbon goes to…drumroll please…" Totodile slapped his leg a few times. "Uh, good enough. First ribbon-Shieldon, who only received five votes! Come on up, Shieldon!"

Shieldon ran up, grabbed his ribbon, and sat back down next to Riolu and Pikachu, who both grinned at him. "I can't believe it wasn't me! I thought Liepard would have got more people to vote for me!"

Although Pikachu and Riolu didn't want to admit it, they thought she would have too, but it obviously didn't happen that way.

"Between Onix and Mothim, our last ribbon goes to…Onix," said Duskull. "Apparently, Mothim, people just thought you were too peaceful. Boat of Losers for you, en route to Pokemon Loser Island. But on the bright side…well, I'll just tell you after your Last Confessional. Goodnight, everyone! If you want to see Mothim off, meet us at the dock in fifteen minutes."

**...**

**"Hey, everyone," says Mothim dreamily. "I'm sad that I'm leaving, especially because I'll have to be leaving Wigglytuff alone. But it's cool. I know that being peaceful is a hard thing, especially with a place as competitive as it is here. I won't let that get to me."**

**"Duskull also said that I should talk about which Pokemon I'd like to win. In my humble opinion, I'd hope Wigglytuff could do it. You've been awesome, Wigglytuff, and I won't forget that."**

**"Peace out, everyone! See you on Pokemon Loser Island, man!" Mothim says brightly.  
**

**...  
**

Everyone from both teams was gathered on the docks, sad to see Mothim go. Even the Pokemon who voted him off felt guilty, because even if he wasn't a great competitor and was a bit strange, he was still a nice Pokemon. Wigglytuff was at the front, hugging him until it was time for him to go. She smiled sadly, and let him walk over to where Duskull, Totodile, Lickitung, and Roselia stood, by the Boat of Losers. Before he boarded, Duskull pulled him over.

"The four of us, we have a secret which we need to let you know," said Duskull. "If you're worried about Pokemon Loser Island, don't be. It's a five-star resort with room service, a huge pool, and everything you could possibly need. You'll also be able to watch the other competitors do their challenges on the TV. You'll get other footage that we'd normally cut out of the regular-length show."

"Thanks, man. See you later," said Mothim. He gazed at the crowds, especially Wigglytuff, then left, growing further away from the island and across the deep blue sea.

...

That night, Liepard called a meeting with Buizel, Onix, and Qwilfish called a meeting between the four of them deep in the woods. "I'd like to propose an alliance. We could work much better as a team, and vote together permanently. Onix, I know you didn't vote with us today, but that was only because of Monferno. We don't have to vote together, but we should. Who agrees?"

"This would be a benefit. I'm in," said Buizel, though he didn't plan to keep Liepard as leader.

"Yes! I'm mad! An alliance would make it so that we'd be less likely to get voted out," said Onix.

"Sure, whatever," said Qwilfish.

Froslass listened from behind a tree, then drifted back towards camp.

...

Well, this is another chapter of the story over! I never really planned to get Mothim off in the first challenge, but it felt logical to do it, and to be honest, he wasn't ever one of my favorites, and Shieldon and Onix were my two other choices, who I had more plans for. I feel bad for Wigglytuff...poor girl.

Don't worry, though! Mothim will be back in later episodes, as well as everyone on Pokemon Loser Island. They're not gone forever, and everyone is a possible candidate for Season 2.

Speaking of which, I'd like to know if anyone has any ideas for Season 2. Even though I'm not going to start writing it for probably an eternity, I'd be willing to accept ideas for new characters and also whether to bring back any old characters or not.

By the way, if you spot any errors, let me know. I forget quotation marks all the time. I'd be glad to fix them if you told me where could find them. Just put it in your review!

Who will get out in the next episode? Find out in Episode 3, because I have no idea!


	3. Episode 3: Wandering in the Woods!

So, here it is! Episode 3! What you've all been waiting for!

By the way, if you want to send me a question about the story, I will PM you a message back and put it above the general story part for others who have the same question. I will put almost all questions here unless the question is either something I don't want too many people thinking of, or it has a secret answer. Most questions about what already happened will be posted, and if it doesn't make sense, I may edit the story. Don't be afraid to send me stuff, I don't bite (except into food).

...

Episode 3:

"Hello, one and all, and welcome back to Pokemon Challenge Island! I'm Duskull, your host, and this is Totodile, my co-host and assistant! Let's get our show started. Totodile?"

In another of his usual efforts to try to get more camera time than Duskull, he pushed in front of Duskull. "Okay, people. Last episode, our hippie moth competitor, Mothim, got eliminated from our cliff-jumping challenge, leaving behind his close friend Wigglytuff. Before we get to the challenge, Duskull and I have some stuff to do. We'll be back later," says Totodile, following Duskull offscreen.

...

Roselia inspected Tropius's leg and Kricketune's arm. "You two look okay to me," she said. She finished unwrapping the bandage surrounding Kricketune's arm and the one on Tropius's leg. They had both suffered minor injuries during the first challenge, but they had both recovered, and Roselia had only left the bandages on to be sure that they would be safe. "You can go," she said, waving the arm with the blue flower on it. "I'm done for now. Besides, Munchlax is supposed to be over for pills to cure his cold, and I can't find those."

As if on cue, Munchlax stumbled into Roselia's office, sneezing. "I knew I shouldn't have jumped in the water," he said, his voice stuffy. "Now I have a cold…although it's not so bad, because these pills Roselia gives me taste like chocolate," he said.

"Don't worry, Munchlax," she said, watching Tropius and Kricketune as they left. "I can guarantee that you'll be better by the challenge,"

"Yay!" he shouted.

Roselia smiled and gave him one of the so-called "chocolate pills"-which had dipped in chocolate specially for Munchlax so that he would take them.

"Thanks, Nurse Roselia. Bye!" said Munchlax, walking out the door. She waved back, then strode over to the door as she noticed Plusle and Minun entering.

...

"All right, Gothorita," said Froslass. "These are the alliances I've found out about in the 4 days since the last challenge, on both teams. With us, on the Palkias, there are the following teams: The two of us, Team Frost; Team Strike, with Liepard, Buizel, Onix, and Qwilfish; and Team Shield, with Riolu, Pikachu, and Shieldon. I don't think these will be all, though. On the Dialgas, alliances are: Team Spark, with Pachirisu, Plusle, and Minun, and a Team whose name I don't know, with Sentret, Torchic, and Munchlax. I think Glameow and Honchkrow have been working with a few other Pokemon, trying to work something out, but both want to be leader, and they're backed by different Pokemon."

"So there are more alliances on our team, then," said Gothorita. "Do you think we should invite anyone else to ours? Someone we can trust. I'd be fine if we invited Dragonair."

"I've considered it," said Froslass. "I don't know yet, though. I'll think about it, and you should too. Watch to see if she seems trustworthy or not. I'll go search for more alliances later."

"Understood," said Gothorita. In the middle of the woods near camp, they parted ways, each walking-or floating-in the opposite direction out of the hazy forest.

…

"Our second meeting! I'm so excited! I brought candy!" said Munchlax, jumping. They were in a part of the forest near camp, and it was extremely foggy.

"I-I'm happy too. Thanks for inviting me, Sentret," said Torchic gratefully, breaking into a chocolate bar Munchlax had brought.

"You're welcome. But, um, even though we're an alliance, we should have a name. Want to be Team…uh…"

"Candy!" yelled Munchlax, mashing more food into his mouth.

Torchic looked at Sentret, smiling. Sentret smiled back, amused.

"Team Candy it is."

…

Dragonair lied on the bed in her cabin, reading one of her favorite books. Suddenly, she sensed a presence with her mind (it was just a dragon ability she had). She realized that it was Gothorita. Gothorita sensed that Dragonair had found her, and she quickly fled. Dragonair stared out the window, trying to figure out why Gothorita would be staring at her through the window. Continuing to think about it, she started reading again, but her mind wasn't really in it.

…

Bayleef walked in to her cabin and saw Wigglytuff sitting in a chair, feeling lonely again. She had tried to be a good friend to Wigglytuff in the time that Mothim had been gone, because other than him she hadn't had very many other friends. She was pretty sure Wigglytuff liked her company.

"Hey, Wigglytuff, what's up?" asked Bayleef. Wigglytuff brightened a little bit.

"Oh, hello, I was just thinking about what kind of challenge we might have today. I want to do good for Mothim!" she said.

"Well, I'm sure he's been watching the show to see how you're doing. I think he'd be glad to see you make it far."

"I'll try. For you, for me, for our team, and for Mothim."

Bayleef smiled. She had originally found Wigglytuff to be very strange, but now that she knew her, there was a certain logic about her that wasn't originally obvious. She was glad she had become friends with Wigglytuff, and she thought she might bring Tropius with her next time they talked. She knew Wigglytuff would like him.

…

"What do you want, Swellow?" asked Marshtomp, slightly annoyed at being woken up by Swellow so early in the morning.

"Hold on a minute. There they are!" said Swellow, pointing through the fog.

Marshtomp strained her eyes to see. She found two shapes that were revealed to be…Makuhita and Zorua.

"Swellow, what did you want? And why did you invite Makuhita and…Marshtomp?" asked Zorua, eyeing Swellow distrustfully.

"I want an alliance with the three of you. You're all powerful players on our team, and powerful players should stick together. I vote to form a team. What do you say?"

"Hey, I'm in," said Makuhita. "I could use a little extra protection, and it would be good to know some Pokemon have my back."

"I guess I am too," said Zorua.

Marshtomp considered it for a while longer. "I'll do it," she said finally. "What do we call our team?"

"I was thinking Team Fog, since this is where we first met," said Swellow.

"Okay. I like it! Sounds mysterious and dangerous. Boooooo…" said Makuhita, imitating a ghostly voice on the last word.

Marshtomp and Zorua smiled and agreed to the team name as well.

…

"Okay, Honchkrow. We still haven't decided on a leader," said Machoke. "Me and Mawile want you, but Sneasel wants Glameow. Glameow would never agree to a vote, because she knows she wouldn't win. What do we do to get them on our side?"

Honchkrow considered it. "Let's tell them that if they don't agree to me as leader, they can't join. Then, we can attempt to vote off one of them, forcing the other to join our team. They wouldn't be dumb enough to be a single-player alliance, and I can't see either of them joining up with anyone else. They'll be forced to work with us.

"Which one do you want out?" said Mawile. "I can try making it happen."

"It might not happen for a few episodes now, but it would be worth it. We need to get Glameow out. She's a leader and couldn't be a follower. Sneasel doesn't mind, so we have to focus on keeping him in and getting Glameow out."

He looked at his teammates and said, "Team Shadow meeting dismissed."

…

"We'll work together in cases where we can agree on who to vote out, but if we disagree, that's fine. We'll be two independent alliances who work together sometimes," said Honchkrow to Glameow. "It would be a big advantage to both of us-you and me as leaders, Team Shadow and Team Claw, working together for whichever voting ceremonies we want. What do you say, Glameow?"

"Hold on," said Glameow. Then she turned around and discussed it with Sneasel.

"What do you think?" she hissed under her breath.

"I'd rather have you as my leader than Honchkrow, but his team would be powerful allies. Just two of us aren't nearly as strong as five. I say we go for it."

Glameow turned back around. "We'll do it. Team Shadow and Team Claw will form a, shall we say, half-alliance," she purred.

"Good enough," said Honchkrow, turning around and walking back into the woods. Mawile and Machoke followed him.

…

"Whoa, we were gone way too long," said Duskull, meeting up with Totodile in the building with the loudspeakers. "But at least we know now where to put everyone."

Totodile nodded, then yanked the speaker out of the intercom and said, "CAMPERS! THIS IS TOTODILE SPEAKING! MEET US AT THE CAMPFIRE IN FIVE MINUTES! YOUR CHALLENGE WILL BE STARTED AFTER THAT! GET A MOVE ON!"

"Finished screaming at the campers," said Duskull, amused.

"It really takes away my stress," said Totodile.

…

"Okay, everyone! Glad you could make it!" said Duskull cheerily as the campers gathered around him and Totodile.

"Your challenge for today is made to be won fairly easily, but we put some steps in it to make you have a tough time. This fog…was a helpful addition," the blue co-host put in.

Duskull explained the rules. "I'm going to put you all basically in a circle around camp. You'll all be within a mile of camp, facing it. Whoever can make it to camp first wins. However, there are some obstacles that will force you to lose your sense of direction. If you make it back to camp within 20 minutes, it's automatic invincibility for you, regardless of team! If you don't, and your team loses, you'll be visiting the ceremony, while everyone on the opposite team will be invincible. The team with less Pokemon remaining in the forest after the time limit wins. This fog, for example, will make the challenge interesting."

"Um, so are we just supposed to get lost in the woods and find our way back?" asked Monferno. "That's kind of strange…"

"No, no, you silly monkey, I'm teleporting you! Everyone stand in line and wait to be teleported. You can begin walking once you hear a whistle."

One by one, Pokemon got teleported into the woods by Duskull, starting their challenge.

**…**

**Swellow winks at the camera. "I'm not worried about this challenge," she says breezily. "Being a Flying-type, I can see further than everyone, I have a natural sense of direction, and I can obviously fly. This is going to take five minutes, max, and the Dialgas will have their first player there."**

**…**

**Porygon is talking while researching on his laptop. "I've found the directions, and I've memorized the exact map of the areas around camp. Based on that, I should be able to get out within the time limit."**

**…**

**Numel yawns. "I don't want to get lost in the woods. I'm not good at it. I'm not very fast, either. Oh well…"**

**…**

**Misdreavus is shivering. "I'm a Ghost-type, so I can see through fog better than most. But it's still chilly outside…brrrr."**

**…**

**Mightyena growls. "If I find any Palkias, then I'll help them. But if I see any Dialgas…they won't stand in my way. It's just in my nature. You win or you lose. Palkias are gonna win."**

**…**

Pachirisu looks around and doesn't see anybody. "Hmm…well, we're supposed to be facing camp, so…this way!" she decided, speeding over the ground super-quickly. She got about halfway there, she thought, before-

WHAM!

She fell over, dazed. When she got up a few seconds later, she couldn't figure out which way she was supposed to go. "Where…do I go?" asked the electric squirrel.

…

Numel looked around in the forest. Since he knew he wasn't going to win because he was so slow, he decided to take a twenty-minute nap.

He lay down on the ground. He had just closed his eyes and started to dream when he heard a friendly female voice.

"Uh, Numel, what are you doing? You're, like, lying on the ground, taking a nap. Don't you want to get to the finish line?" said the voice. He was pretty sure it belonged to Buneary, although she was a Palkia.

"Yawn," was all he said.

"Okay," said Buneary brightly, before bouncing away. She saw Plusle in the distance and told him, and a few minutes later, Numel's rest was again disturbed, this time by Plusle.

"Numel, you have to go!" said Plusle. "We can't let the other team win!"

"Yawn," said Numel.

"Come on!" Plusle tried dragging Numel, but the heavy camel Pokemon wouldn't budge.

"All right, we'll try this! Quick Attack!" shouted Plusle, darting into Numel and then running away into the woods. Numel didn't pursue him, and he didn't come back.

…

Riolu jumped from tree to tree. He noticed two Dialgas, Kirlia and Kricketune, working together, but they weren't on his team, so he ignored them. He wanted to stay out of sight because it might be easier to get to the end. He hadn't seen any of his team yet, although he had seen Maractus of the Dialgas about two minutes back. He jumped to the next tree, when he heard a quiet "Ow! What was that?"

He was staring into the face of Zorua. Another Pokemon not on the same team as him.

"Wait, were you jumping through the trees too?" asked Riolu. "That was how I was planning on getting to the finish."

"Yes," she said. "Now I'd better be going," she hissed, trying to get away. Riolu stopped her.

"Maybe we should work together. We're doing the same thing," he said levelly. Zorua stared back into his eyes, her eyes narrow. "Fine," she said slowly.

Led by Zorua, Riolu followed through a tree path that was almost exactly what he would have taken himself. He noticed some large fallen trees that would have been hard for non-flying or floating Pokemon to get over, unless they were really big, like Tropius, but up here in the trees, there wasn't much to block your way.

"SPINARAK!" Okay, except that.

"Riolu, help!" screamed Zorua, being tied up by a Spinarak's silky thread. He used Fire Punch on the thread punching a hole through it and pulling Zorua out.

"Aw, fine, I'm leaving," said the Spinarak.

"Good!" said Zorua. She turned back to Riolu. "Thanks. A lot. I wouldn't have been able to get out of there without your help."

"Uh, you're welcome," said Riolu, blushing a bit. "We should probably get moving."

"Oh…right," said Zorua distractedly. "Okay, let's go."

The two of them continued hopping through the trees, paying more attention to hazards but also thinking about something else.

…

"Hey, guys!" called Swellow. Duskull and Totodile looked up, and Roselia and Lickitung peered out of the windows of their facilities to see who was first. It was Swellow, but she carried a teammate on her back. Makuhita.

"I found him in the woods. We're teammates, so I couldn't leave him," explained Swellow.

"And I'm glad she didn't!" said Makuhita. "Hey, are we first?"

"Yep," said Duskull. "But there comes third place."

Honchkrow descended from the sky. Swellow scowled. He may have been another bird Pokemon, and, she admitted, an attractive one too, but she didn't like him. Something was up with him.

"Hello, Duskull, Totodile. Third place is better than I would have expected. Thank you."

"Third place isn't bad," said Duskull. "Especially, since all three of you are Dialgas-a good start for your team."

Riolu and Zorua came in fourth and fifth, Riolu being the first Palkia to get to the finish line, and surprisingly, Wigglytuff managed a sixth. Pikachu came out with Misdreavus, both on the Palkias, and gained seventh and eighth. Kirlia and Kricketune came in ninth and tenth.

"Only a few minutes left!"

Just then, Monferno came out with Gothorita, and Maractus, a Dialga, was only a second behind the two Palkias.

Duskull did a quick tally. The Dialgas and Palkias both had 13 left in the forest. He saw Pachirisu speed out of the forest next. He looked at his watch time. Only 30 seconds. Would this be another defeat for the Palkias?

At the last moment, Tropius, Bayleef, Buizel, and Mightyena all came out of the forest together. Four Palkias!

"Well, Dialgas, you've been way outnumbered! Eliminations for you. Have a good time voting!" Duskull cackled, walking away.

**…**

**Zorua sighs. "I don't really think it's fair that despite the fact that the Dialgas ended up with first, second, third, and fourth or fifth place, we still have to go to the elimination ceremony. After Swellow and Makuhita's victory, it doesn't seem right. Oh well, there's nothing I can do about it."**

**She pauses. "Oh, and Riolu? I know you're never going to see this, but thanks for helping me get away from that Spinarak in the forest. I really do appreciate it. I know I wasn't really cooperative before, but I'm glad that we could help each other. Even though we're on opposite teams, I hope you make it to the merge."**

**…**

**Bayleef looks delighted. "I found Buizel in the forest, and we agreed to work together. After that, we came across Tropius and Mightyena, who were also working together, and we decided to get to the finish line together! Mightyena thought she knew where it was, and she was right! We all got to the end because of her. Thanks, Mightyena!" says Bayleef, smiling.**

**…**

**Makuhita has brought a punching bag into the shed and is punching it while talking. "I know that the Dialgas didn't win, but I really owe Swellow for getting me out of there! Thanks, Swellow! Go, Team Fog! Let's save Marshtomp from elimination today!"**

**…**

**Wigglytuff is sitting with wide eyes and a wide smile. "Did you see that, Mothim? I got sixth place in this challenge just for you! I miss you! Bye!" she said, waving.**

"Welcome, campers, to the second Pokemon Challenge Island Elimination Ceremony! I'm Duskull-"

"-and I'm Totodile. And they already knew that, Duskull. Can we stop with the show business and get on with the _show_?" Totodile growled.

"Fine, Mr. Co-Host. Whatever you say." said Duskull smugly. Totodile growled again in annoyance.

"All right, Duskull, I'm doing this elimination ceremony," says Totodile angrily. "Invincibility goes to: Swellow, Makuhita, Honchkrow, Zorua, Kirlia, Kricketune, Maractus, and Pachirisu. Everyone else can be voted off. Any questions? Good." finished Totodile, sending another glare at Duskull. "Now vote."

**…**

**Kirlia sits in the chair, thinking. "I voted Glameow off. I don't trust her. I'm pretty sure that Honchkrow got Mawile and Machoke to vote with him. As a matter of fact, I see the three of them together a lot lately…I wonder if something's up?"**

**…**

**Swellow sits in the confessional, looking determined. "I'm sure that not a lot of people voted with me, but I want Mawile off. That girl is so full of herself, it's annoying."**

**…**

**Machoke looks nervous. "Honchkrow told Mawile and I to vote for Glameow, but secretly, I didn't. I want a dumb wimp off this island, like Torchic. Come on. The guy's a chicken. I think Glameow and her team voted for him, though."**

**…**

**Plusle is writing something down. "I got Minun and Pachirisu to vote with me, and we decided to form an alliance, Team Spark, since we know other competitors doing it. Anyway, we're voting with at least five other people to get Numel off. By now, everyone knows about how he fell asleep in the forest. I don't see how anyone would not vote for him. I wonder who Numel's voting for?"**

**…**

**Numel looks bored. "I don't like Machoke. He's scary."**

**…**

"And the votes are in! Everyone listen up!" says Duskull, standing next to Totodile, holding the ribbons and looking less mad. Lickitung and Roselia stood in the corner, curious.

"First ribbons go to the Pokemon with invincibility. Swellow, Makuhita, Honchkrow, Zorua, Kirlia, Kricketune, Maractus, and Pachirisu all should get ribbons," said Duskull as Totodile passed them out.

"Next, to the Pokemon with no votes! Plusle, Minun, Marshtomp, Sneasel, Munchlax, Whimsicott, and Sentret!" Team Fog looked relieved at the mention of Marshtomp's name.

The five remaining Pokemon looked around in anticipation. Mawile, Machoke, Torchic, and Glameow all looked confused as to why they had received votes. Duskull rewarded two with ribbons.

"Machoke and Mawile, come up here and get your ribbons," he said. They smiled at each other and walked over to sit with Honchkrow. "You had two votes each."

"Next Pokemon to receive a ribbon will be Torchic. You got three votes. Please come and get it," said Duskull. Torchic ran up to Totodile and took his ribbon quickly, smiling as he sat back down next to Sentret and Munchlax, who were happy to have him with them.

"Glameow or Numel. It will be one of you going home tonight," said Duskull dramatically. "Which one will I hand the last ribbon to?" Totodile stepped back up in his place next to Duskull after giving Torchic his ribbon.

"Glameow, come get your ribbon," said Duskull. "Numel, you are going home tonight. You got nine votes while Glameow only received four."

"Why? I wanted a million dollars so I could afford a new bed!" complained Numel. "I'm tired."

"Numel, go to the confessional area to make your Last Confessional," said Duskull. "That's what you have to do. You're going to win a stay on a fabulous-er, on Pokemon Loser Island."

"Come on, Numel, I'll take you," said Totodile sympathetically.

**…**

**Numel's eyes are half-closed due to the fact that it's night. "Yawn…I didn't win. Oh well. I guess I can't win everything. I hope Pokemon Loser Island is nicer than this place. Maybe they'll have bouncy beds. Probably not, though, this place is like a dump without bouncy beds."**

**"I guess if I had to choose someone to win, it'd be Munchlax. He's a Dialga, and a big eater like I am. But it doesn't matter, really. I guess I maybe shouldn't have fallen asleep in the forest, but I was so tired…"**

**"Anyway, that's all I have to…yawn…say. See you soon, Mothim."**

**…**

The remaining 38 Pokemon awaited Numel on the dock. The Boat of Losers sat on the calm water. Duskull, Totodile, Roselia, and Lickitung.

"You do know that Pokemon Loser Island has bouncy beds, right?" asked Totodile. Numel shook his head, then his face lit up and he ran to the boat, not exactly quickly, but as fast as a Numel can possibly go.

"Why'd you tell him that?" asked Lickitung.

"Yeah, last time you Duskull told Mothim that there was a resort, not just some bouncy beds." said Roselia, confused.

"We thought it might make him feel better. We don't want any contestants crying on the show," explained Totodile. Duskull nodded.

"Okay," said Lickitung. "In that case, see you all tomorrow morning."

"And on the next episode of Pokemon Challenge Island!" called Duskull. "See you later!"

...

Well, that's it, Numel's gone. Sorry, Numel-fans, but it was a logical choice. I know there wasn't a surprising or twist ending in this one like with Mothim's, but I couldn't find any. Call me lazy :P

By the way, if you're curious about anything, contact me. I save any data from any episode needed, including, for example, who votes for who, even the ones that don't vote. That's how I get the numbers I do-by deciding who should vote for who. You could also contact me about who wins a certain challenge, or who gets how many points. That kind of thing.

Chapter 3 is over! Bye, everyone! Hope you liked it and thanks for reading! Please review!


	4. Episode 4: Hide-and-Seek Frenzy!

Here's chapter four! First chapter that I'm actually satisfied with. This one's exciting, and you'll probably never expect who gets out at the end. Well, you might, but I highly doubt it. And some of you won't like it, but it makes sense. You'll get over it :P

As for episode/chapter five...we'll see when it comes out. I might write it right now, or I might try writing another story for a chapter or two. Most likely, it'll be the first one, though. This story is addicting to write. I hope you all enjoy it, because I enjoyed writing it!

Let me see...if anybody posts a question in the review, I'll try to put it up here from now on as well as answering it in a PM message. That way, if someone else had the same question, well...now they won't.

Episode 4:

"What should we do, Duskull? Do you have any good ideas for challenges?" asked Totodile, the co-host of the show, to the host, Duskull.

Duskull laughed. "Oh, Totodile, haven't you known me long enough to know that I _always_ have ideas for the show? As a matter of fact, I have a list," said Duskull. He went to his room in the large staff cabin, which had reliable electricity, unlike the campers' cabins, whose electricity worked about seventy percent of the time. Duskull pulled a list out of the dresser next to his bedside and showed it to Totodile.

Totodile read the list from top to bottom, surprised at how interesting Duskull had been able to make the challenges. "These are…good," he admitted grudgingly, not enjoying giving Duskull such a comment but meaning every bit of it. "Did you come up with all of these?"

"Well, most," said Duskull. "My parents sent me one or two, and the cooking one was recommended to me by Lickitung, but a few of them were ideas I stole from other TV shows like these."

"They're all rip-offs," muttered Totodile. "PCI is way better than anything those other companies can come up with."

"True," Duskull admitted. "You know today's challenge, right?"

"Actually, no. I forgot what it was. Enlighten me," said Totodile, walking over to where Duskull floated, holding the paper. "Ah. This one will be interesting," he said, picturing some of the competitors trying to do this challenge and failing. "I'm up for it. Should we go get them?"

"Of course, O Blue One," said Duskull. "Let's go."

…

Early that morning, Porygon had been drawing in his sketchbook when he noticed Froslass beckoning him over toward the forest on the border of camp. Sighing, he picked up the notebook and went over to her.

"What do you need, Froslass?" asked Porygon, annoyed. "I was getting good drawing done in my notebook."

"We're not here to talk about your drawing abilities!" Froslass snapped. Then her face softened. "Excuse me. I was just wondering if you'd be interested in joining up with an alliance me and Gothorita formed," she said. Porygon was startled as he saw Gothorita step out of the shadows, realizing that she had been there the whole time. "You're the kind of Pokemon we need."

"Uh…I'm in," said Porygon, secretly happy at being allowed in an alliance. Then he got suspicious. "Why me?"

Gothorita answered him this time. "You're smart and strategic, something that both Froslass and I value in team members. If we didn't take you, another alliance might."

"How do you know I'm not in another alliance?" asked Porygon suspiciously.

"I'm a Psychic-type," she said, walking away. "See you around."

**…**

**Porygon looks excited. "I've always thought that Gothorita and Froslass would make good teammates. I know I could help them, and they could help me too."**

**…**

Onix laughed. "Glad that useless Numel guy is gone from the Dialgas. I felt like he was making _me _lazier."

"Oh, yeah, because laziness is contagious," said Buizel sarcastically, smiling.

"Actually, that may be the case. Whatever it is, does anyone here have any plans on what to do?" asked Liepard casually. "Who to vote off?"

"Personally, I don't think we'll have to be worrying about that," said Buizel indifferently. "I've just got a feeling the Palkias are going to win this one. Don't ask me how, I might be wrong."

"I've had that feeling every challenge, but we got out the first round," pointed out Qwilfish.

"I wish we could have a bigger team," Onix said, seemingly randomly. "Graah!" he cried. His long, rocky tail knocked down a couple trees.

"Onix!" called Liepard. "There's no need for that," she growled angrily.

"My mistake," he said. Liepard smiled. "There, that's better."

"I'm not in the mood for deciding who should get out," yawned Qwilfish. "Anyone want to go to the beach with me?"

Buizel's hand shot up. "I'll go. And I'll bring Buneary!"

"Great," said Qwilfish. "Let's go."

…

"What do you guys think the next challenge is going to be?" asked Pikachu.

"I don't know," confessed Shieldon. "I really hope I can do it. I don't want to almost get out like on the first challenge. I still feel bad about Mothim...anyway, what about you, Riolu?"

Riolu had been staring blankly into the distance. He suddenly jerked up.

"Huh? Did you say something, Shieldon?" asked Riolu.

"Are you okay, Riolu? You've been acting strange all day," said Pikachu suspiciously.

"Uh, I'm just feeling a little sick," said Riolu, slightly flustered. In fact, he hadn't been feeling sick at all. He had been thinking about a topic that he shouldn't be thinking about: Zorua. At first, he hadn't noticed, but after the challenge from a few days ago he had been thinking about her quite a bit.

He knew he wasn't even 'allowed' to think about Zorua. She was a Dialga, and he was a Palkia. Relationships couldn't happen between members of opposite teams. It would be like…betraying them. Riolu didn't want to be a traitor. And when had he thought of relationships?!

_I'm in love with Zorua. Great,_ he thought helplessly. He had been trying to deny it, but he couldn't anymore. She was smart, funny, and tough, and basically everything he had always wanted. But he couldn't let that stand in the way of his competition. The only way to be able to do that was for both of them to make it to the merge. He thought that Zorua stood a good chance, but he wasn't sure about himself.

"So, Riolu, really. What do you think today's challenge is going to be? This is the third time I've asked," said Shieldon, a bit impatient. "You said yourself that being focused is one of the things we should strive for. What do you think it'll be?"

"I don't know," he said. "If you guys don't mind, could I leave? I'm tired," he said.

"Sure," Pikachu shrugged. "Do you think you'll be better by the time of the challenge? It would be bad if you got off…"

"I hope so," said Riolu, although he didn't really believe it.

**...**

**Riolu sits on the chair. "I'll admit…I like Zorua. But she's a Dialga, and she probably doesn't feel the same about me. I'm going to have to realize that and get over it. It's just harder than it looks. But I'm still going to be as loyal to the Palkias and to Team Shield as I was before."**

**…**

"WAKE UP!" shouted Duskull into the cabin shared by Sentret, Torchic, Munchlax, Plusle, and Kricketune of the Dialgas. "Time for breakfast, then your challenge!" They then heard a whistle by Totodile and the ringing of a cowbell.

"Urgh, does he have to do this every morning there's a challenge?" complained Sentret. Torchic nodded in sympathy.

"It messes up my sense of music. I was playing just now, and I lost it! I was so inspired too…" said Kricketune sadly. He always got up early in the morning to ensure that he had practice time. In the beginning, nobody had expected to like Kricketune's music-playing skills, expecting him to be mostly classical, but he played a wide variety of songs and took requests too, playing some of his cabinmates' favorite new songs.

Plusle nodded. "That was one of my favorites, too. Could you play that one part again, the part I like where the girl who sings it does that weird humming thing?" he asked. Kricketune replicated it almost exactly, minus the actual singing.

"Does anyone have any chips?" asked Munchlax. "I need a pre-breakfast snack."

Torchic giggled. "A pre-breakfast snack?"

"Yeah, I get hungry before breakfast, okay? I eat a lot," said Munchlax.

Torchic looked at Sentret, then they laughed. Munchlax started smiling too, and after a little more laughing, they headed down to the cafeteria.

**…**

**"I didn't know there was such a thing as a pre-breakfast snack," said Plusle thoughtfully.**

**…**

The campers came to the cafeteria in small groups. Once the last Pokemon, a few girls from the Palkias, had arrived, Duskull started,

"All right," he said. "This is going to be a fun, fun, challenge. You'll all like it…except maybe Tropius and Onix," said Duskull, eyeing the two biggest Pokemon. Tropius looked at Bayleef and Wigglytuff, confused.

"Here's what you'll be doing today: Hide-and-Seek!" said Totodile. "We'll have a random draw for seekers, three from each team, and everyone else will be a hider. The hiders will, uh, hide, and the seekers will, obviously, seek. We'll give each Pokemon as long as it takes them to eat breakfast to think about their spots, and once everyone's done, you'll start the game. We have flags set up around the perimeter, and if you hide anywhere outside of them, you're disqualified."

"Oh, and there isn't really any way to stop you from finding Pokemon on your own team. If you find them, that still counts as a find and they will still go to the elimination ceremony while raising your score," Totodile added.

"If no one can figure out where you are, we'll announce over the loudspeakers that you have invincibility. Hiders who are found do not get invincibility. Any seeker who can't find three Pokemon are up for going to the elimination ceremony, but the team who has less Pokemon remaining in hiding will be the ones losing a member," said Duskull. "All right, get eating!"

…

"Now I can see why he said I wouldn't like this challenge," Tropius groaned. Bayleef nodded and Wigglytuff frowned unhappily.

"Sorry, Tropius. If you want, you can hide with me; I was going into the forest anyway, and that's your best bet," she said, hoping to comfort him. He smiled. "Thanks, Bayleef."

"Excuse me, do you mind if we sit here?" asked Misdreavus, coming along with Haunter. "We were going to sit with Buneary and a few others, but that table was already full."

"Go ahead," said Bayleef, making space next to her for one of them. Tropius took up most of one side of the table, so Misdreavus slid in next to Bayleef while Haunter took the unoccupied side of the table.

"Where are you guys hiding?" asked Wigglytuff. Haunter smiled.

"Well, we have our ways," he said. With a quick flick of his eyes to make sure no one was watching, he quickly disappeared, then reappeared.

"You can turn invisible?" asked Tropius incredulously.

Haunter smiled again. "We're ghosts. That's what we do. Misdreavus can do it too, but it's best if she doesn't show it in a place like this."

"I agree. Something like that is something that you'd want to keep a secret," Bayleef said quietly. "Why did you show us?"

"Um…we were, uh…kind of hoping to ally with you?" said Misdreavus unsurely.

Tropius, Wigglytuff, and Bayleef stared. While none of them would ever vote against one of the others, they weren't officially allied.

"Uh, we've never allied," said Tropius. Haunter frowned, then shook himself. "Oh, you haven't? We were sure you had…"

"I'd like to ally with you anyway!" said Wigglytuff. "I like both of you."

"Okay," chimed Bayleef and Tropius at the same time. Haunter and Misdreavus looked extremely happy.

"Thank you so much," said Misdreavus, tearing up. "We were both afraid we'd get out if we didn't have an alliance with someone, and we decided to try to look for a bigger alliance to join up with once we found out we were each trying to do the same thing."

"Shouldn't we have a name? It should be something super-cool," added Wigglytuff. "Maybe something like Team Marshmallow?"

"Uh, sorry, Wigglytuff. I don't think that Team Marshmallow would work," said Bayleef, trying not to laugh.

"I'd like the name Team Autumn, if that's okay with you. I've always thought that it would be a fitting name for a team of Grass and Ghost Pokemon, and I'm sure that Wigglytuff likes playing in leaves as well," suggested Haunter.

"Oh, yes. Yes I do," said Wigglytuff, fervently nodding her head.

"Great! Team Autumn it is!" said Tropius.

"Hey, slowpokes! Get moving! We don't have all day to eat breakfast!" called Totodile over the megaphone. "So get your butts over here!"

"We're coming. Shut up," said Liepard from another table.

"I heard that," said Totodile.

**...**

**Tropius smiles at the camera. "I know I'm not going to be any good at the challenge today, unless I get picked as a seeker, which I probably won't. I'm just happy that I'm a member of an alliance now, especially with a Pokemon like Haunter. I think he's going to be our leader, even though we haven't voted yet. I'd vote for him, at least. Anyway, good luck to all the Palkias in today's challenge, especially Team Autumn!"**

**…**

**Misdreavus smiles, looking relieved. "I don't know if I was being paranoid or not-I probably was, but as a Ghost-type, it happens-but I'm really glad that I joined up with Tropius, Bayleef, Wigglytuff, and Haunter. I know they'll do anything they can to stop me from getting eliminated, and I'll do the same for them. It's really a good feeling." Her smile faltered. "I feel bad, though…I was one of the Pokemon who voted for Mothim, in the first elimination ceremony. I hope Wigglytuff will forgive me."**

**…**

"And now, we start. First of all, our six seekers," announced Duskull. "Our three Dialgas are, drumroll please, Machoke, Kricketune, and Whimsicott. From the Palkias, we will take Qwilfish, Pikachu, and Monferno. We will be watching the six of you for a minute, making sure that you face the wall because we'll be giving everyone else a minute to hide. Since we're in front of the cafeteria, in case of any of you six looking back, we'll give you an automatic trip to the elimination ceremony and also let Lickitung hit you with her spatula. And although I don't know from personal experience," he glanced at Lickitung, "I'm pretty sure it would hurt. A lot. So face the wall, because the hiders can hide…now!" he said.

All the hiders ran off.

…

Buizel knew where he was headed-to the small pond a little behind the girls' cabins. It was a perfect place for a Pokemon like him, who could breathe underwater for any amount of time.

He was about to jump into the pond, when she heard voice shout, "Hey!" Buizel only had just enough time to see that it was Marshtomp before a Mud Shot attack knocked him out of the water.

"I'm sorry," he said calmly, but inside he was infuriated.

**…**

**Buizel is sitting on the chair, arms folded. "I want Marshtomp out. I know I'm not on her team, so I can't have any control over that. Or maybe I can…if I flirt with enough Dialga girls."**

**…**

Plusle and Minun scampered through the forest. They had agreed to look for a place in the forest together. Minun stopped Plusle and pointed to a tree.

"We can go up there," she said. Plusle shook his head.

"I don't think there are enough leaves…it wouldn't really cover us. That one might be okay," he said, pointing to a tall tree covered fully in leaves.

"It looks nice…but really hard to climb," said Minun dubiously. "I don't think I could make it up there. We should go farther in."

**…**

**Kirlia looks amused. "For my hiding place…I hid in a patch of white flowers. I'm green and white, and I was laying in a position that it should be hard for them to find me. I saw a few other Pokemon go by who weren't so lucky, but I don't think any of them actually noticed me. I hope that kind of luck sticks with me."**

**…**

**Maractus looks excited. "You guys are totally never gonna believe it, but I, like, swear to Arceus that it's true! I actually buried myself under the sand! I can do that kind of thing, 'cause, you know, I'm a cactus. My ears were, like, sticking out, but I did it by a patch of grass, so I totally hope they won't notice me!"**

**…**

**Mawile looks uneasy. "For my hiding place, I hollowed out a tree with my jaw and hid inside, but what really astounded me was when I saw Honchkrow hiding. He hid in a shadow and blended in, except for his stomach, which he laid on to cover it up. I'm on his team, and he's a good leader and all…but man, that was creepy."**

**…**

**Torchic looks slightly afraid. "I hid under my bed. I mean, we're allowed to hide in cabins, right?"**

…

"And…GO!" cried Duskull. Monferno took off faster than any of the other competitors. He soon saw the tail of Glameow from the Dialgas sticking out behind one of the cabins. "Glameow!" he called. "I see you! You're behind my cabin!" Sighing, the gray cat Pokemon went back to the cafeteria. He saw that Whimsicott, from the other team had found Buneary, who hadn't had a place to hide.

Soon after that, he saw Pachirisu fall from a tree, desperately in need of coffee. She fell on top of Machoke, which counted as him finding her, though they were on the same team. Machoke scowled, but at least he had his first Pokemon found, which was more than Kricketune, Pikachu, or Qwilfish could say.

…

About fifteen minutes later, most of the easy competition had been weeded out. Onix and Tropius had both hidden in the forest, but were easy finds, and Bayleef had been right by Tropius. Kricketune had found Tropius and Bayleef, and Qwilfish had found Onix. Wigglytuff had run straight into Pikachu, giving him his first point. In various cabins, Makuhita and Torchic had been found by Monferno, Porygon found by Pikachu, and Gothorita found by Whimsicott. In a small pool behind the girls' cabin, Qwilfish had dived down to find Marshtomp, and on the beach Kricketune had encountered Maractus. Shieldon had hidden under a small cliff-like structure, where Machoke had found him.

…

"Okay, let's see…" said Duskull, speaking to Totodile. "There are 10 Dialgas still in hiding, and 8 Palkias. Machoke's found 2 Pokemon, Kricketune's found 3, Whimsicott has 2, Monferno has 3, Pikachu has 2, and Qwilfish has 2."

"Right. So no matter what, Kricketune and Monferno get invincibility," said Totodile.

"Uh-huh. It's easy to find three Pokemon, with as many as we have here." Duskull shrugged. "I probably made it too easy, but when has this game ever been fair?" Totodile snickered.

…

Pikachu saw a black tail sticking out of a bush. "Ah-hah!" he cried. Then he looked up into the face of Liepard. "We're on the same team, idiot!" she said. With a glare at him, she stalked back to camp.

**…**

**Pikachu looks frustrated. "I've found three Pokemon and they're all on my team! Why?!" he shouts, smacking his forehead. "Ouch, that kinda hurt..." he says, rubbing it.**

**…**

Qwilfish was walking through the forest when she heard a…snorting noise. She was startled for a second. She slowly approached the bush where she had heard it from…

And encountered Munchlax eating berries.

"Aw, come on," he complained. "I was having such a good time, too."

"Get back to camp, I found you. Go," she commanded. Munchlax put some berries in his arms and sulkily made his way back to camp.

…

Whimsicott was walking through a patch of white flowers when she bumped into something hard. She looked down to find Kirlia.

"Oh, I'm sorry!" Whimsicott apologized. "Are you okay? I didn't mean to find you…"

"That's fine," Kirlia replied. "I was getting tired of that position anyway," she added gratefully.

Whimsicott helped Kirlia up and sent her off to camp, then went into the forest.

…

"Whoo! Two more! I am on a roll today!" called Monferno, who had just found Swellow, Plusle, and Minun all in trees.

"Come on, Minun, let's go," said Plusle. Minun looked sad, but came along with them. Swellow, who had been found a few minutes earlier, had already left.

…

Machoke had just found his third Pokemon, Buizel, when Duskull called, "EVERYONE BACK TO CAMP! THE GAME IS OFFICIALLY OVER BECAUSE I'M TIRED OF WAITING FOR YOU SORRY LOSERS TO FIND EVERYONE OR GET FOUND. IF YOU'RE STILL HIDING, THAT'S IMMEDIATE INVINCIBILITY. NOW GET OVER HERE! DUSKULL OUT."

"Come on," said Machoke, dragging the Sea Weasel along with him.

"Oh, I hate this-OW!-guy too," he mutters.

…

"All right, attention please!" shouted Totodile to the talking campers. "Is everyone here? Go sit by teams-Dialgas, you go on the left, Palkias, you go on the right."

Duskull, who had been counting, told him, "We're good. Everyone's here."

"Okay," said Totodile. "I'm doing announcements today. First of all, all seekers: Machoke, Kricketune, Whimsicott, Monferno, Pikachu, and Qwilfish, get invincibility. It will not be one of you going home."

"Also, anyone who remained in hiding will be invincible. Dialgas had five left in hiding: Sentret, Zorua, Honchkrow, Mawile, and Sneasel. That's a total of five. Do the Palkias have more or less?"

Both sides looked worried, but one more than the other.

"The answer is…more. The Palkias had Misdreavus, Riolu, Mightyena, Haunter, Froslass, and Dragonair still left in hiding. A total of six. Dialgas, see you at the elimination ceremony!"

…

"Don't worry, guys. People won't vote for you," said Zorua confidently. "They'd have no reason to."

"I'm not worried. I didn't get out as early. I'm more worried about you two, really. You got out earlier, and people won't like that," said Swellow calmly.

"What, do you think Buizel's gonna vote me out? He's not even on our team!" Marshtomp laughed.

"She's right, Marshtomp. We should be careful," said Makuhita wisely. "Don't do anything to make any more enemies before the competition."

"Fine," said Marshtomp disagreeably.

…

"It's going to be Glameow who goes home tonight," said Honchkrow deviously. "She can't stay in any longer."

"Plus, we really could use that Sneasel on our team," said Mawile. Secretly, she thought Sneasel was seriously the best-looking guy in the camp, and she wanted him on the team as much as Honchkrow and Machoke. "I'll get some Pokemon to vote for Glameow. Of all the Pokemon on our team, it's clearly me who's the most persuasive," she said. "You can't argue with that."

The intimidating Honchkrow and the aggressive Machoke certainly weren't able to get people to vote for Glameow by acting like they could be friends with anyone, but she was. She could convince anyone to believe her lies-anyone she wanted. That was what happened to all her previous boyfriends, before she sweetly told them to get lost.

"Agreed. You do it," said Honchkrow. "She'll be more likely to get out this round because she was the first Pokemon found. I can feel it."

"I hope you're right. I just want that idiot Sneasel with us. Personally, I can't see why he chose to side with the cat over us," said Machoke, flexing his left arm muscles. "She's not really that tough-just rich."

Honchkrow cackled, and Mawile laughed, and eventually Machoke's low laugh joined to make a dark-sounding chorus that echoed throughout the night.

…

"What was that?" asked Glameow. A chill ran up her spine. "Didn't you hear anything?"

Sneasel looked confused. "Hear what?"

"Oh…never mind," said Glameow. She heard a rustling in the bushes. Her head turned towards Sneasel, who looked as bewildered as she felt. Quietly they both sneaked up towards the bushes.

"Glameow, Sneasel." It was Honchkrow, and soon, Machoke and Mawile's heads appeared through the bushes also. He tipped his hat respectfully, then went on talking.

"The three of us would like to vote with you again," said Honchkrow. Glameow looked slightly startled and surprised, then regained her composure. "And who would this be for?" the Cat Pokemon, asked, eyes glowing.

"Minun," said Mawile quietly. As she said this, Sneasel chanced a look at Machoke, and he thought he saw something flash across his eyes, but it was gone as quick as it came. He shook it off.

"Why Minun?" asked Glameow suspiciously.

"She's pretty weak-and she seems to be the weaker of the two twins," said Mawile. "She should go."

"I suppose," said Glameow doubtfully. "We're in," she said.

"Good!" said Honchkrow. "See you around."

**…**

**Glameow looks puzzled. "Something about them wanting Minun out strikes me as funny. I'm not sure if they're voting for the same person, actually. I think they're lying. But I can't tell why they would lie to me, I'd still vote with them, most likely. I'm just not sure…"**

**…**

**Sneasel is fidgeting in the confessional. "I don't know. I don't really think that voting for Minun makes that much sense, but I'll go with it. I'd rather have someone else out, but…I guess you've gotta do what your teams gonna do, and that's vote for Minun."**

**…**

"All right, guys! I haven't been in this episode enough, so I'll do the elimination ceremony!" shouted Totodile.

"You weren't the only one," mumbled Duskull.

"Shut up," countered Totodile.

"You can't tell me what to do, Co-Host," replied Duskull smoothly. Totodile's face purpled, which is the equivalent of a red face but for a blue Pokemon.

"You're a terrible Pokemon, but I'm still doing the ceremony," said Totodile obnoxiously.

"So be it," said Duskull indifferently. "I get a break."

Totodile's face purpled further but he continued. "All right, Dialgas. None of you are allowed to vote for the following Pokemon: Sentret, Kricketune, Machoke, Honchkrow, Sneasel, Zorua, Whimsicott, and Mawile. Vote now!"

**…**

**Sentret looks uncomfortable. "We voted for Makuhita…I don't know, he's just too big and strong, but at the same time….well, it's hard to explain. Torchic and Munchlax were with me on this one."**

**…**

**"Why'd I vote for Makuhita?" says Munchlax, stuffing a cheese puff in his mouth. "He eats a lot too. I just want to have a decent share of food, but then he takes a huge scoopful, and…well, he eats a lot."**

**…**

**Makuhita looks proud. "I voted for Munchlax. He eats way too much. Like, when Lickitung made us sausage the other day, almost half of all of the sausages eaten were eaten by Munchlax. I eat a lot…but not that much."**

**…**

**Swellow looks confident, as usual. "I voted for Torchic, as I did last time. Survival of the fittest!"**

**…**

**Zorua looks exasperated. "Doesn't ****_anyone _****_else_**** here find Maractus annoying? Sorry, but I'm voting for her…I think I'm, like, the only one. We're all voting for different people on Team Fog, as far as I'm aware...Swellow's voting for Torchic, and Makuhita is voting for Munchlax, and Marshtomp is going to try to get Glameow off after Mawile suggested it to her earlier today. I don't know who's going to get off, but I'm just glad I'm not in the running."**

**…**

**Pachirisu talks quickly. "So Mawile came and talked to me before, like, randomly, and she told me to vote for Glameow, because she's a traitor and stuff, so I did. I think Plusle and Minun voted for Swellow or something, I don't know, I just drank too much coffee," she says.**

**…**

**Minun looks tired. "Yes, we voted for Swellow. She's just too tough. I don't like her."**

**…**

**"I'm, like, voting Minun off and stuff. But it's nothing personal," claimed Maractus in the confessional. "Sneasel told me to do it, and he's soooo hot, so I told him I would. I hope he, like, goes out with me," says Maractus dreamily.**

**…**

"The votes have been taken!" says Duskull. "Read them, Totodile."

"Okay," the blue alligator begins. "First ribbons go to the Pokemon mentioned before: Sentret, Kricketune, Machoke, Honchkrow, Sneasel, Zorua, Whimsicott, and Mawile. Congratulations, guys, on your invincibility," says Totodile as the pleased Pokemon come up to get their ribbons.

"Next, those of you without invincibility who received zero votes. Come get your ribbons Kirlia, Marshtomp, Plusle, and Pachirisu."

The three girls go up to get their ribbons, but Plusle doesn't. Pachirisu stares at him, then realization hits her.

"Why didn't Minun get a ribbon?" she asks Totodile. He shrugs.

"Is there a mistake?" Plusle pleads to Duskull, who shakes his head. "Sorry, Plusle. No mistake. Go get your ribbon, at least you're safe."

Plusle quietly goes up to get his ribbon with Pachirisu while Minun, still sitting, looks anxious.

"Next, for Pokemon who only received one vote: Munchlax, Torchic, and Maractus!" proclaims Totodile. Sentret's face brightens as he welcomes his two friends to sit by him. The remaining Pokemon-Makuhita, Swellow, Minun, and Glameow, looked stressed.

"Swellow," states Totodile simply. Her confident smile somewhat restored, she flies over to Duskull to get the ribbon, but gives an anxious smile to Makuhita. "Swellow, you had two votes against you."

The final three look even more tense. Totodile heightened the suspense. "Well, two of you got three votes against you; the other got eight. The question is, whose names will I call? Makuhita and Minun? Minun and Glameow? Or Glameow and Makuhita? The answer is…"

"Makuhita and Minun, come and get your ribbons."

The last two Pokemon, their faces lit up, run to grab the ribbons. Glameow, on the other hand, looks stunned.

"It was an organized vote against me, wasn't it?" she seethed. "Who organized it?" she shouted, turning. She turned to look at all of the campers, but missed the well-hidden faces of Team Shadow. "I swear to Arceus, I will find you! Things will be different next time!" she screeched.

"Okay, Glameow, you need to go," said Duskull. Glameow gave him a dangerous glare, then went towards the confessional hall.

**…**

**Glameow still looks furious. "Well, I didn't deserve to get out this early, but by some twist of fate, I am. First of all, I hate whoever voted against me. But I know some Pokemon organized it. If I ever find out who…well, let's just say that once I get home, I'm getting my dad to purchase the most powerful TMs he can find for me to learn. I didn't deserve this."**

**Her face softens. "Oh, and Sneasel? Good luck. I'm rooting for you to win this, so go all the way! If you end up getting out…someone from Honchkrow's team would be nice. But I'm relying on you, Sneasel! Avenge me! Even if Team Claw is broken up, make sure no one ever forgets it!"**

**…**

Everyone gathered around at the docks, but the faces showed mixed emotions. Liepard went up to talk to Glameow first.

"Hey, good job, girl. You did awesome. I was really hoping you'd be on my team at the beginning. It's too bad…" and for once, the deceptive cat seemed sincere. Glameow smiled.

Liepard's team, consisting of herself, Buizel, Onix, and Qwilfish, all came up and gave Glameow some kind of goodbye. Honchkrow's team faked regret at seeing her leave. Sneasel came up last of all.

"Goodbye, Glameow. Uh…thanks for allying with me. Being on Team Claw was really fun," he said awkwardly. Then Glameow pulled him in for a hug.

"See you later, Sneasel. Go all the way for me, okay?" asked Glameow.

"Of course," he said, blushing slightly. "What do you think I should do now?"

"Ally with Honchkrow's team. That's what I'd do, if I was the one still in. I mean, Honchkrow's a good leader…and maybe he knows who voted me off."

"Come on, Glameow," said Duskull, pushing the gray cat onto the Boat of Losers.

After Glameow got on the boat, her face turned frantic, and she said, "Hold on!" but the boat had already started traveling. It stopped for a minute.

"Do you have all your luggage?" asked Totodile.

"Yes, but-" Glameow started frantically.

"Then adios!" said Totodile, and the boat started running again.

They heard her shout something, but all anyone could make out was Sneasel's name.

What she had really said was, "Sneasel! Honchkrow did it!"

…

Okay, so here you have it. Glameow's the one who gets out. Now that was probably pretty unexpected, right? Thought so. I'll explain why down here. I'm sorry if any of you like it, but in reality one of the main reasons I got rid of her was to move on the story. I'll give you a hint: it involves Sneasel. If you can guess what will happen with Sneasel now, you get a cookie.

I never really intended Glameow to be a main villain. Honchkrow, Liepard, Buizel, and Froslass were my main choices, although Buizel might not seem like one yet. Liepard's gotta watch her back! Anyway, Glameow's main part in the plotline sort of became a decoy villain. I think now that there are less alliances, managing my 'bad guys' will be a lot simpler.

I did like Glameow's character...I do regret getting rid of her. I can't lie. But this will give me more opportunity to develop my other villains, which I think was desperately needed. And after she became the first Pokemon out in hide-and-seek, and the only villain without invincibility, the votes sort of built up. Sorry if you liked her a lot-but I did too!

In the reviews, put your opinions on this chapter. I think it was well-written. Also list more characters you'd like to see more of. I simply can't focus on every Pokemon in every chapter, so that leads me to neglect some of them every once in a while. If there's a character you really want to see more from, I'll try. Another way to do this would be to vote in my poll-it's on the top of my page.

By the way, my brother, ManaphySeaPrince, has another Pokemon/Total Drama Island crossover fanfiction, called Pokemon Drama Island. He's currently writing that and one other story, so read them! If you like mine, I think you'll like his too. Please give them a try! Thanks, everyone!

Glameow: You people all have to review or I'll track you down!

Ohhhhh-kay then. Well, you heard the cat. I always love to hear new ideas! Please put them in your reviews, I'm desperately in need of reviews. Just be honest, that's all I ask. Thanks, and please review!


	5. Episode 5: Haunting Halloween Special!

All right, wonderful people! Time for another episode of Pokemon Challenge Island! Well, first of all, a Q&A session!

From ballandcup: Will the winning team ever get a prize?

Most likely. In this episode-well, we'll say a lot of people get prizes here. Everyone except the person who gets out.

From comma12321: Will anyone ever evolve?

Oh yeah. And it's closer than you think ;)

From comma12321: Will real-world events ever be used?

Well, this is a Halloween special, so I'd say that counts as a real-world event. But I think aside from holidays, I might not use too many. Of course, we'll see what happens. Nothing is definite at this point.

And now, about my poll! First of all, if you like my stories, you really should vote on here. I appreciate the five people who already have, and you know who you are. But for anyone who hasn't, this is a good way for you to get your input on who should win, and who should get out soon. Many of my decisions will be based on this. As it looks right now, Shieldon is my most popular character, followed by Sentret and Riolu, and then after that we have Bayleef, Kricketune, Torchic, Pachirisu, and Haunter. These are all characters I've considered to win, but again, nothing is definite at this point. I hope you don't mind who I get out this episode, but no one voted for her, and she was starting to get on my nerves...

And now, Episode 5! Halloween Special! Enjoy!

Episode 5:

"Hello, viewers! Welcome to the next episode of Pokemon Challenge Island!" said the energetic host, Duskull. The co-host, Totodile, responded with a, "Hey, people."

Duskull resumed speaking. "Last episode, our rich kitty, Glameow, got herself into elimination during the hide-and-seek challenge. Isn't it sad? She doesn't know how to play hide-and-seek!" Totodile laughed.

"Anyway, since it's almost Halloween, we're going to make this episode a Halloween special. Our contestants are going to do a Halloween-related challenge. And I've decorated the camp to be scary," said Duskull. Just then, a plastic spider fell and hits him on the head. "Stupid decorations," he muttered, and Totodile continued laughing.

"Shut up," warned Duskull. Totodile continued laughing for a while, then stopped. "And welcome to the fifth episode of Pokemon Challenge Island!"

…

"Hey, dudes, what's up with the Halloween decorations?" asked Monferno, exiting his cabin with his cabinmates. Buizel eyed the spooky decorations in amusement. "Obviously Duskull and Totodile felt that some decorating needed to be done."

"I'd bet that today's challenge would be a Halloween challenge. If they went-" started Porygon, before he was interrupted by the staff nurse, Roselia, who went screaming towards Duskull and Totodile's cabin.

"Hey, Roselia! What's wrong?" asked Porygon, slightly upset that he hadn't got to finish talking. "Could you keep it down?"

"Not if you know what they did to me," she seethed. "They put this in my medicine cabinet," she says, picking up a small, yellow box.

Onix, another of their cabinmates, gives a booming laugh. "That's it? Even for a small Pokemon like you, that's pathetic."

Roselia walks up to his face, and pulls a switch on the side of the box. Suddenly, an extremely large, angry Mr. Mime toy pops out. Onix recoils in fear, realizing that it's only a jack-in-the-box.

"Now you know how I felt," she said. "They had it rigged up to my medicine cabinet so that when I opened it, this would pop out."

"Chill," said Buizel. "You're overreacting."

"No, I'm not. I fell off the chair I was standing on, and got this bruise," she said, turning around and showing them. It was kind of a big bruise-for such a small Pokemon.

"All right," said Haunter. "See you later. Good luck with Duskull and Totodile."

"Thanks," she called back. Under her breath, she said, "If a jack-in-the-box scares them, they're going to all fail today's challenge for sure. Good thing I'm only the nurse."

**…**

**Whimsicott smiles. "I woke up this morning to find all these Halloween decorations. I must admit, I'm really impressed with how detailed this is, considering they've only had a night to do it in. Good job, Duskull and Totodile." She frowns and shakes her head, as a cobweb falls off. "Only these confessional cobwebs are kind of annoying…"**

**…**

"Sneasel," whispered Honchkrow. "Come on-Team Shadow meeting." The Dark-and-Ice Pokemon turned around and followed Honchkrow through the woods into a small clearing where a few logs were laid down for them to sit on. Two spots were already occupied by Mawile and Machoke.

"All right, Sneasel! Glad you're here!" said Mawile cheerfully.

"We're sorry about, uh, Glameow. It's too bad she got so many votes," said Machoke carefully. "But we've been wondering if you'd want to join Team Shadow now."

Sneasel had considered the offer quite a bit, and he had decided to accept the team's offer. He had really wanted to be with them in the first place, but only if Glameow was there. He found her to be more like himself-he really didn't trust Honchkrow as much, but he wasn't a bad Pokemon-was he?

"I'm in," said Sneasel. Mawile winked at him, Machoke ran up to shake his hand, and Honchkrow wrapped his arm around him. "To the new member of Team Shadow!" he declared. "Let's win this!"

He was joined in by three cries of, "Yeah!" He smiled. He loved being able to control Pokemon like this. It was one of the perks of being team leader.

…

Zorua sat down alone in the middle of the woods. Suddenly she saw a flash of blue behind her. She turned around. Surely it wasn't…Riolu?

It wasn't. Instead, it was Marshtomp. She was partly sad but partly relieved. Marshtomp sat down next to her on the log.

Of all the members of Team Fog, Zorua was closest to Marshtomp. Her sarcastic attitude made her constantly fun to talk to, but she was much friendlier than she seemed, if she would open up to you. Marshtomp sat down next to Zorua.

"Why'd you turn around so quick?" asked Marshtomp. Zorua froze. "Like you saw a ghost," said Marshtomp. "Booooooo," she said, and Zorua was relieved to hear that she had just been making a Halloween pun.

"Oh…it was nothing," she said. "I just wanted to make sure no one was creeping up behind me,"

Marshtomp turned around. "Nope, no one behind you," she said.

Zorua smiled, then frowned a little. She had been worried about seeing Riolu because…she kind of…liked him, in a way. She wished they had been on the same team, where she would have been free to date him, if they had both agreed on it. Which most likely, he wouldn't. How could she expect him to possibly have the same feelings that she did?

Shaking her head for how unrealistic she was being, she went back to casually chatting with Marshtomp in the woods.

…

"What do you think the Halloween challenge is going to be?" asked Kirlia cautiously to Kricketune and Whimsicott, who she had been sitting with a lot lately.

"I don't know, but have you seen the confessional room?" asked Whimsicott wryly. "It's…sticky."

"I'm not going to ask you what that means. That would be a bad idea, right?" Kricketune asked.

Whimsicott laughed. "Cobwebs."

"Oh."

"I have a feeling it's something big. Did you ever notice how Duskull's been going into the woods behind camp a lot lately?" asked Kirlia. The other two shook their heads. "Oh…well, he has. I think it's probably a huge…I don't know, really."

"Only one way to find out," said Kricketune. "Wait and see."

"Kricketune, play me something spooky, would you?" asked Whimsicott. "I feel the need for a scary song."

Kricketune started playing a tune where his arms sounded kind of like a solo violin, but the music it played was absolutely spine-chilling. Kirlia and Whimsicott were almost afraid, and it looked like some other people were too. Makuhita accidentally dropped the fork he was eating with onto his foot, but didn't seem to notice much, Shieldon was staring with wide eyes, Torchic had curled himself into a ball and was shaking, Lickitung had overfilled Dragonair's cup of hot chocolate but didn't notice, and Buneary and Buizel had stopped kissing. After he noticed the effects the song had on people, he stopped playing.

"Sorry, everyone," he said, embarrassed.

"That was spooky," observed Buneary quietly. "Like, seriously creepy," she added as an afterthought.

Buizel went back to hugging Buneary, with a wink at Liepard.

**…**

**Kirlia shuddered. "That was beautiful, but absolutely haunting. I don't think I'll ever forget that song. Kricketune played it really well…"**

**…**

**Pikachu looks embarrassed. "I felt…it's hard to explain…it was scary. I don't know a better way to put it. It was just scary."**

**…**

**Kricketune sits down and talks in a low, quiet voice. "I'll always remember that song…it's called "Ghost's Touch." It was actually the last song my teacher taught me before he died…"**

**…**

Duskull, meanwhile, smiled. He had found a version of Ghost's Touch online, and that would be what he played during the background of today's challenge. He went to get Totodile. He had done what needed to be done for the challenge.

…

"All right, campers! Come here! It's time for the challenge," called Duskull. As soon as all the campers emerged from the cafeteria, he started.

"Campers, as I'm sure you're all aware, it's almost Halloween! Therefore, the challenge for today is: a Halloween maze! What's going to happen is that you'll have to find your way out of this maze illusion I made behind the camp. I'll also be playing the song Kricketune played as background music. The team with the first one or last one out will be visiting a cozy campfire ceremony, whichever I feel is more important. Enjoy!" he said cheerfully. Mightyena growled.

**…**

**Mightyena looks angry. "I like Halloween, but really? A Halloween maze? What makes me angriest is that he's playing Kricketune's song…it's like he wants to…wait, never mind. I'm pretty sure he does want to torture us. Whatever, I'll be fine."**

**…**

"On your marks, get set…go!" cried both hosts as the Pokemon all dashed into the maze.

Duskull had worked for several nights on the maze. In reality, the maze was just a bunch of open fields with the illusion of the maze on it, but for the Pokemon who were in the maze, it seemed real. He had also brought some of his employees-one of them a new intern, Spinarak, as well as several others-and placed them throughout the maze. Pokemon would never know that these were just his interns-they would just expect them to be Halloween hazards.

The maze illusion had green hedges as borders. Pokemon were not allowed to walk through the walls, one of the rules Duskull had explained earlier. Otherwise they would immediately teleport out of the maze and be disqualified and have an automatic 4 votes against them if their team lost: one from Duskull, Totodile, Roselia, and Lickitung. Cheating wasn't acceptable in this game.

_Unless you're a staff member,_ thought Duskull. Once he was sure that everybody was in, he manipulated his illusion so that everybody would be separated. Now the fun began.

…

Mawile recoiled in surprise as the landscape changed before her eyes. She had just been with Honchkrow, Machoke, and Sneasel, who she had wanted to stick with. Now she was in an empty room…but she felt a chill run up her spine. She turned around…and saw a floating pair of eyes and mouth. "BWAHAHAHAHA!" it shouted.

Mawile, horrified, ran away, leaving the room while screaming. The Gengar chuckled. Mission accomplished. Then he turned invisible again and waited for his next victim.

…

Pachirisu skipped through a room filled with coffins. Her eyes widened as she realized that she had almost reached the end-she could see it at the end of the room.

She dashed towards the end of the room until one of the coffins-a strange yellow one-got off the wall and blocked her way.

"Go…" it moaned. "Leave now…"

"Hello, sir! You're a, um, Cofagrigus, right?" she asked brightly. "Well, I would go, but you see, you're sort of in my way, so if you could scoot over a little bit maybe...?"

The Cofagrigus stared in astonishment at the fact that the Pachirisu had figured out he was a Pokemon. Then he smiled. "Okay, I'll let you pass. But only because you figured out that I'm a Pokemon, not a living coffin."

"Okey-dokey! See you!" she said, speeding away. Cofagrigus went back to the wall and attempted to perfect a scarier face.

…

Riolu went through a rather small room when suddenly he got caught in a spider web. He struggled to free himself before he heard a voice from one of the walls.

"SPINARAK!" cried the small green spider Pokemon. Riolu sighed exasperatedly.

"Remember me?" he said. The Spinarak stepped back in shock. "Oh, you…" it said. "You're the one I met in the forest…well, I'm an, er, intern now, so um…" His eyes widened as he saw Riolu's fist start burning .

"Fire Punch!" Riolu cried, aiming a punch at the spider web. Finally free, he glanced back at Spinarak and dashed off further into the maze.

…

Sentret sighed as he walked into the next part of the maze: an open field full of crops. He walked past a green scarecrow hanging from a pole.

The scarecrow moved.

He watched as a Cacturne dismounted itself from the wooden pole and slowly walked over towards him. He tried to run away, but his feet weren't carrying him fast enough. As the Cacturne snuck up to be almost behind him, he realized he needed a last boost of speed and used Quick Attack on the air in front of him, sending him faster than he could ever normally go.

Finally, Sentret made it to the edge of the room, and the Cacturne trudged back to his post at the pole.

…

"Come on, you stupid…pink puffball!" growled Onix in annoyance. He was referring to Wigglytuff, who had apparently been through several rooms already. Since both of them were Palkias, Onix had agreed to work with her to get out of the maze, but that didn't make him like it any more.

"Sorry," said Wigglytuff quietly, skipping along behind him. Soon, they came to a small room that appeared to be an ordinary kitchen or dining hall from an old house.

"AAAH!"

Onix and Wigglytuff turned their heads and saw Munchlax from the Dialgas racing out of the room. He turned to face them.

"Why would you run from a kitchen?" asked Wigglytuff mildly.

"Don't go in there! The chandelier attacked me!" he said rapidly. Onix wasn't even aware that Munchlax was able to talk that fast, but before he could ask Munchlax anything more, the Big Eater Pokemon had already continued running away around a corner.

"Come on," said Onix gruffly. He slid into the room hesitantly, with Wigglytuff following behind him. He noticed a chandelier hanging above the table. It didn't really look dangerous, but on closer inspection, the room was filled with cobwebs.

"Onix, what's that…?" asked Wigglytuff hesitantly. He heard faint laughter. But then it grew louder and louder, until it became deafening.

"HA HA HA HA HA! DON'T TRY TO ESCAPE ME!" the voice boomed. And then the chandelier moved.

Almost quicker than he could see, two blasts of fire shot out from its tips at the wall, which burst into flame. More blasts of fire came, and they landed closer and closer to Onix and Wigglytuff.

"Go back!" shouted Onix, and both he and Wigglytuff retreated similarly to how Munchlax had.

After they left, the chandelier floated over to the wall and smiled, and a previously invisible green chameleon-like Pokemon revealed itself.

"Nice laugh, Kecleon. It's probably a good thing that Duskull chose you for the laugh…" said the chandelier, who was actually a Pokemon-a Chandelure. In reality, her voice was high and actually kind of pretty, unlike the booming laugh, which belonged to Kecleon, another intern, yelling through a microphone.

"Anytime, Chandelure," said the intern Kecleon mischievously. "But you should get back to your spot. A new 'guest' could come anytime."

Chandelure laughed. "Oh, you crack me up sometimes, Kecleon."

He smiled.

…

"Fifteen minutes in the maze, and we have our first five Pokemon out!" announced Duskull. "Pachirisu of the Dialgas claimed first place, Munchlax in second, Onix and Wigglytuff in third and fourth, and Liepard in fifth. And Liepard, no beating up interns next time we do something like this, okay?"

A male Sharpedo intern had reported getting clawed by Liepard after attempting to scare her. Duskull and Totodile had sent him to Roselia, hoping that the other two Sharpedo they had in their Sharpedo room would be enough to cover it for a while.

Meanwhile, the path Munchlax had taken next to the Chandelure room had been one of the two exits, the other being the one in the Cofagrigus hall, which Pachirisu and Liepard had used. Onix and Wigglytuff had taken the same path Munchlax had taken after Chandelure had scared them away (with Kecleon's help).

Totodile picked up from where Duskull had left off. "Let's see who comes out next!"

As soon as he said this, Gothorita stepped out of the maze from the Chandelure exit. "Me. Sixth place, right?" she asked. "Not bad."

Gothorita stepped over and took a place next to Liepard.

"First 10 campers out get invincibility," added Duskull. "From either team. Keep 'em coming."

**…**

**Gothorita smiles at the camera. "Halloween maze? More like EASIEST THING EVER."**

**…**

**A Sharpedo appears in the confessional with a bandage around its fin. "Ow…that stupid cat…"**

**…**

**Onix growls at the camera, and possibly at the fact that he can only just fit in the confessional room. "One…I hate Wigglytuff. She is the most annoying Pokemon ever to curse this planet. Two…I can barely fit in this room. Tropius and I really deserve a bigger confessional room. And three…well, I don't really have a three. I'm just mad."**

**…**

**Liepard snickers. "Onix is mad? What else is new?"**

**…**

Swellow confidently flies past the Cacturne scarecrow with Torchic on her back. She had thankfully heard from him about the Cacturne that was a scarecrow impostor. She was prepared for it, and sent a Gust attack back at it to prevent it from getting any closer.

While she wouldn't have expected it, not having talked to him much, Torchic was slightly braver than he looked. He also wasn't as annoying as she expected. Originally, the only reason she had even agreed to come with him was that they were on opposite teams, but she thought he made a decent traveling companion. She wouldn't say that she could be friends with him, but she didn't hate him. She figured that she could at least-

"WATCH OUT FOR THE HEDGE!" shrieked Torchic. Startled, she swerved at the last moment, entering a hallway with a single room at the end of it.

"Thanks, Torchic," she said shakily. She set down on the ground and caught her breath. The two birds walked towards the room, and once she was ready, she flew the remaining way to the room.

What she saw made her scream.

There were a bunch of dead Pokemon-maybe about a hundred-in the room with various wounds. And a Magneton was standing in the center, cackling.

"Welcome…I'm looking for another few souls. Only two more souls and I'll have 108, which is how many are needed to make a Spiritomb. I'm trying to bring back my brother, you see…" he said menacingly.

The two Pokemon screamed and ran away from the room frantically.

Once they were a safe distance away, the Magneton started laughing. Then he touched one of the dead 'Pokemon.'

"Wow, these Poke Dolls are pretty convincing," he admitted. "I'm lucky they didn't touch any of them and find out that they're just stuffed animals. Well, back to work…being an intern here is fun!"

…

Makuhita exited the maze through the exit on Cofagrigus's side, exhausted. He walked straight over to Duskull and Totodile and held up a fist at them. "Do you know what I just had to go through?"

"Not really," said Totodile indifferently. "But you can go stand over by the others over there, because you have invincibility."

Makuhita's face almost relaxed, but after a second, he looked angry again. "That's not the point! I just had to endure twenty minutes of conversation about random things with a coffin!"

"Cofagrigus?" asked Duskull, bewildered. "Isn't he supposed to scare you?"

"I don't know, man! I'm not the one who set up the maze!" he said angrily.

Just then, Swellow and Torchic both came screaming out of the maze. Torchic ran towards the crowd of Pokemon with invincibility and hid next to Munchlax while Swellow unsteadily flew over towards Duskull and Totodile.

"There's…there's a room full of dead Pokemon in there…and a Magneton…" she stuttered.

"Poke Dolls. Next," said Totodile.

"Poke Dolls? That's all?" said Swellow, visibly relaxing. "So the Magneton was an intern?" she asked. Duskull nodded sympathetically.

"That room almost scared _me_ when we set it up," admitted Duskull. "Did Magneton do a good job as the mad scientist/killer?"

"Oh, yeah. Definitely," said Swellow, flying over towards the crowd to talk with Makuhita.

**…**

**Makuhita looks uneasy. "Swellow told me what happened in her part of the maze…the only thing I had to endure was a bit of random conversation with a coffin. I guess I'll take that over an apparently realistic horror movie scene."**

**…**

**Torchic is shaking. "Swellow told me the bodies were just Poke Dolls…I never would have known. It was so, so, so creepy. I never want to have to do a Halloween maze ever again. Even one of those cornfield mazes. The last one I went to was run by a Cacturne, just like the one in this maze…"**

**…**

**Swellow has regained some confidence. "I really can't believe how stupid I was before. I should have known the whole time that it was something like that. I mean, Duskull and Totodile can't do something like that, right? They'd get sued. I think. Oh, Arceus, I'm an idiot."**

**…**

**Munchlax looks spooked. "That Magneton room, it's near the Cofagrigus exit. I hope Sentret doesn't have to come out that way. That room and the Chandelure room are supposed to be the scariest."**

**…**

Soon, Riolu and Mawile exited the maze. Riolu earned tenth place, just enough to get him invincibility. Mawile earned eleventh, and Honchkrow was only a second behind for twelfth. Riolu seemed annoyed, although no one could tell why. Mawile seemed only slightly spooked. Honchkrow seemed confident.

Next out was Porygon, who went to stand-well, float-over by Gothorita. Froslass, Misdreavus, and Buneary had all teamed up in the maze, putting the Palkias in the lead in terms of Pokemon who had left the maze. Then, Sneasel and Maractus escaped together, putting the amount of Pokemon who had escaped at eighteen. While Sneasel looked okay, Maractus looked like she was about to have a mental breakdown. Sneasel explained that she had seen the fake blood in the Sharpedo pool.

"I don't like blood," she told Duskull and Totodile. They both made a mental note to include more blood in challenges if possible.

"Ooh, this is getting intense," cackled Duskull. "I put a lot of time and energy into this maze, and judging by the looks on everyone's faces, it was worth it."

"Yep," responded Totodile simply. Soon, Tropius emerged, claiming nineteenth.

**…**

**Maractus looks at the confessional floor, stressed. "I don't like blood," she repeats from before. "I haven't since I was, like, really young. It's, like, totally creepy when you see a bunch of blood in, like, a Sharpedo pool!"**

**…**

**Sneasel grimaces. "The Sharpedo pool…was realistic. I'll give them that."**

**…**

**The same injured Sharpedo from before appears again in the confessional. "Are we allowed to sue contestants? I'm suing that stupid cat."**

**…**

Kirlia had been through several rooms before-including a narrow escape from the Cacturne, Magneton, and Gengar rooms. She wasn't sure what this kitchen-like room was all about, but she thought it looked fairly safe. Though that probably wasn't the case. The chandelier was pretty cool, too

She turned her head and saw a blazing fire blast come at her.

"KIRLIA! WATCH OUT!" she heard coming from her left side, and something pushed her to the right, and out of the way. The fire hit just to her left.

"Oh, I'm so sorry!" said the chandelier. "I, uh, won't attack you anymore, I can't risk people getting hurt, or I'd lose my job!"

"You…talk?" asked the Pokemon next to her, which turned out to be Kricketune.

"I'm Chandelure, and, uh…you can go…please don't tell Duskull?" she begged quietly.

"Sure," said Kirlia.

"Good! The exit's that way," the chandelier Pokemon said cheerfully.

"Thanks," said both Kirlia and Kricketune as they left.

While they walked to the exit, Kirlia stopped to talk with Kricketune. "Why'd you stop to save me?"

Kricketune looked at her like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "Well, we're friends, right? And we're on the same team, so I think you deserve my help if you need it. Besides, Pokemon not getting hurt is more important than winning, don't you think?"

"You're right," she responded quietly. "Anyway, thank you. I really do owe you."

"Don't worry about it," said the red bug cheerfully. "Come on, let's get to the end of the maze."

…

Bayleef turned a corner and looked into a room with nothing in it but a spider web. "This seems a little…easy," she said to herself before venturing into the room.

Then she heard a noise from the ceiling and turned up to look at it. It was a Spinarak, and most likely the one who had made the web.

"String Shot!" it cried in a small voice. The string was surprisingly strong for coming out of such a little Pokemon. She was securely tied up.

"Hmm…Razor Leaf?" she tried. The leaves, however, could not cut the thread holding her in place. The Spinarak continued descending, but her struggling got her nowhere.

Finally…as she was about to give up…

A white light surrounded her. The Spinarak on the ceiling shouted something that sounded like "Oh, bagels!"

Bayleef knew what was happening. She was evolving into a Meganium!

The light went away, and she looked at her new body. It was amazing!

Then she remembered she was trapped in a spider web. But luckily for her, she had grown enough during the evolution that the strings hadn't fit around her anymore and had broken.

She happily ran further into the maze while a despairing Spinarak continued to fix his web.

…

"Okay, so I'll check off Whimsicott, Marshtomp, Buizel, Shieldon, Pikachu, and Plusle for arrival," said Totodile. Just then, Kricketune and Kirlia came out of the maze, exhausted. "And that would be two more.

About a minute after the two of them got out, another Pokemon emerged. This one looked a bit like Bayleef, but it was bigger, had two antennae, and had a giant red flower around its neck.

"Bayleef? You evolved!" called Tropius. He ran over and kissed her, proof for anyone who didn't know they were dating.

"Meganium now," she corrected, smiling.

Misdreavus and Wigglytuff, the only other two members of Team Autumn that had escaped the maze yet, went up to congratulate her, and eventually, all the Pokemon from both teams gave their praise to her. After Monferno and Machoke escaped, Haunter came out, and he congratulated Meganium a lot too.

**…**

**Meganium smiles, clearly extremely happy. "I'm so happy I evolved! I really hope I can help Team Autumn and the Palkias more now."**

**…**

**Tropius smiles shyly. "I really like the fact that Bayleef is a Meganium now. If it's even possible, she's way cuter now.**

**…**

**Whimsicott smiles. "We may not be on the same team, but it's really cool that Bayleef evolved, so I congratulated her. I think we could be friends if we were on the same team."**

**…**

**Haunter sits on the chair, grinning. "It was a nice surprise to get out of the maze and see a Meganium standing there instead of a Bayleef. I'm really glad she could do it. She's talked a few times about how she wished she could evolve already. It's good that her dream finally came true."**

**…**

**Kirlia smiles shyly. "I'm really grateful to Kricketune for saving me back there. I mean, I know Chandelure didn't mean to hurt me, but that could have been really bad. It would have been even worse if Kricketune had been hit-he's weak to Fire attacks. Actually, I really like Kricketune. He's smart, talented, friendly, optimistic, polite, and honestly, not bad-looking. There aren't many Pokemon like that."**

**…**

**Kricketune shrugs in the confessional. "I just did the right thing. Kirlia didn't deserve to be hit with the fire, so I saved her. That's all there is to it."**

**…**

Soon, some other Pokemon escaped: Zorua escaped after an encounter with Gengar led her to the Cofagrigus room. Cofagrigus had attempted to scare her, but when they ran into each other, Cofagrigus had been playing a game on his phone. He eventually gave up and let her pass.

Dragonair escaped about a minute after, with Sentret and Minun, who had been working together, leaving afterward. Mightyena ran out after that-she had tripped over a branch on the ground and had been knocked out.

"One Pokemon left!" Duskull announced. "Since we're tired of waiting for her, I'll drop the illusion and let her find her way out."

Totodile turned off the music, and Duskull made a strange motion with his hands. Suddenly, a bunch of Pokemon appeared in the maze, and Qwilfish was one of them, stuck in the center. The rest of them, interns, scattered around camp to do their various usual jobs.

"Qwilfish, you were the last Pokemon in the maze!" shouted Duskull over the megaphone. "Due to the fact that you're a Palkia, and that the first player out was a Dialga, we're going to take the Palkias to the elimination ceremony. And you can come out now, Qwilfish, you know the illusion's over, right?"

**…**

**Qwilfish sits with a pouting expression on her face. "I'm bad with direction, okay? That's all there is to it!"**

**…**

**Misdreavus floats in the confessional, frowning. "I think that tripping over a root and being knocked out for most of the time is a better excuse than having a bad sense of direction. I have a bad sense of direction, but I still got fifteenth place."**

**…**

**Mightyena looks disappointed. "My story about tripping on the root-that's all true. But I still think it sucks that I couldn't place any better than thirty-sixth. I was expecting top 20, at the very worst. I hope people don't vote for me, but I don't have an alliance, unlike that freak fish…"**

**…**

**Liepard snarls in the confessional. "One thing's for sure. We're not voting for Qwilfish."**

**…**

A while later, at the campfire, all the Palkias had assembled. Duskull was about to start talking, when suddenly he looked thoughtful.

"How did you like the challenge?" he asked.

Before anyone else could talk, Totodile spoke next to him. "Did you see the looks on their faces? Your maze was freaking amazing! No pun intended."

"Scary!" Buneary squeaked.

"Uh…it was okay, man. Kind of creepy, though," said Monferno.

"It was a pretty good illusion," Shieldon ventured.

"I hated it!" shouted Qwilfish.

"The maze…was scary. But you put a lot of work into it," said the newly-evolved Meganium. "I guess I'll admire you for that,"

"Okay, I think I'll give you invincibility, just for saying that, Meganium. And because you evolved," said Duskull happily.

"Unfair!" roared Onix. "You can't do that!"

"And why not?" asked Duskull. "Have you ever been a host before?"

"No, but-"

"Didn't think so," he countered. "Anyway…Onix, Wigglytuff, Liepard, Gothorita, and Riolu all placed in the top ten, so they get invincibility, as well as you, Meganium. Now vote, my little campers! Vote!"

**…**

**Haunter sits, looking thoughtful. "Hm…Qwilfish or Mightyena…"**

**…**

**Dragonair sits still. "I really don't know who to vote for," she says in a musical voice. "I suppose that Mightyena or Qwilfish would be the logical choice, but…**

**…**

**Onix scowls. "Monferno. That's who I'm voting for."**

**…**

**Meganium sighs. "Qwilfish, I guess. I have to deal with both her and Mightyena in my cabin, but Qwilfish is way more annoying. Mightyena's actually kind of nice, if you get to know her."**

**…**

**Froslass gives a quiet laugh. "We're voting for Tropius-Gothorita, Porygon, and I. His clumsiness and friendliness get in the way. He could be a potentially good competitor, but at the moment he's just not."**

**…**

**Shieldon sits somewhat uncomfortably. "She probably won't get out, with Qwilfish and Mightyena getting so many votes, but Team Shield voted for Froslass. We got Monferno to vote with us, but I'm not sure about anyone else. She just seems so cold. I really don't trust her."**

**…**

**Monferno smiles. "Riolu, Pikachu, and Shieldon don't really seem like such bad guys. They're all good friends, and I like talking to them when I get bored. I don't think I ever would have talked to them if this had been school, but it's not school. It's a small island, and there aren't many cool Pokemon. I'll try to make friends with them."**

**…**

**Buizel looks mad. "I'm not happy that Qwilfish was one of the last two Pokemon out of the maze, but she's still our teammate. My vote goes to Mightyena."**

**…**

"Well campers, the votes are in!" announced Duskull. "Totodile, ribbons, please?"

Totodile held up a basket of ribbons and began. "The first six ribbons go to the first five Pokemon out of the maze, as well as the one who did something epic today! Onix, Wigglytuff, Liepard, Gothorita, Riolu, and Meganium, come claim your prizes," The Pokemon went up, smiling. The majority of the Pokemon remained, the ones who didn't have invincibility."

"First off, all you Pokemon who didn't receive any votes! Good for you!" said Duskull.

"Shieldon, Dragonair, Pikachu, Haunter," Totodile began, giving them time to claim ribbons. "Buneary, Misdreavus, Porygon, and Buizel," he continued. "And…oh, wait, that's all who receive ribbons now. But I have four more left. Who will they go to?" he asked, jingling them maliciously in his hand…well, whatever you'd call it on a Totodile.

Some of the remaining Pokemon-Mightyena and Qwilfish-didn't look surprised, but some, like Tropius and Monferno, did. Froslass wasn't giving away anything, but inside she was a bit surprised too. Could someone have found out about her alliance?

"It will be one of the five of you leaving the island today. Who will it be?" asked Duskull. "Well…Monferno, you can come up here. You only got one vote."

Monferno came up to get his ribbon. As he sat back down, it dawned on him what that meant, and he shot a venomous glare at Onix, who was sitting angrily in his seat (more angrily than normal because he hoped that Monferno was about to get out."

"Tropius! You had three votes," called Duskull.

"You will not be going home tonight. Meaning you can get cozy with your slightly larger and more flowery girlfriend," commented Totodile, but Tropius appeared not to have heard. He was kissing Meganium and standing next to her.

"The next ribbon…is a problem, you see," said Duskull. "The three of you all received five votes against you. Meaning…it's re-vote time! The ones who didn't vote against one of the three of them should now do so.

Froslass, Porygon, Gothorita, and Onix all received new pieces of paper and started writing.

**…**

**Porygon looks worried. "We didn't really have a meeting this time to plan who to vote for...oh well, I know I can't vote for Froslass! I guess I'll choose Qwilfish-she called me a nerd once. And geek too, I think."**

**…**

**Gothorita sits calmly. "Mightyena."**

**…**

**Froslass gives a slight smile on one side of her face. "I know that it won't be me going home-even if Onix did vote against me, Gothorita, Porygon, and I won't-and that's a majority. So I'll vote for Mightyena-she's too competitive."**

**…**

**Onix gives another simple answer, as Gothorita did. "Qwilfish."**

**…**

"Well, the votes are in!" announced Duskull. "Froslass can come receive a ribbon-she received zero more votes against her!"

The Ice-and-Ghost-type floated over to Totodile and received her ribbon before sitting down with the campers who had received theirs.

"This, however, creates another problem entirely," says Duskull. "Mightyena and Qwilfish now have seven votes each. Meaning that everyone who voted for Froslass has to vote for one of these two. Come on, guys, let's get rid of someone already!"

This time, Shieldon, Pikachu, Riolu, Monferno, and Misdreavus got pieces of paper and voted. Once finished, they handed all of the papers to Duskull, who read them.

"Finally, we have a winner!" said Duskull. "Receiving all five votes was…drumroll please…"

**...**

**Shieldon sits down. "It was the logical choice."**

**…**

**Misdreavus says quietly. "She never was one of my favorites."**

**…**

**Pikachu grins. "Adios!"**

**…**

"Qwilfish!" Duskull cried. "Mightyena, come up here, you're not going home today!"

"What?! How?!" shouted the puffer fish.

"Sorry, but nobody liked you because you're a snob!" said Porygon rudely.

She glared at him. "Shut it, dork. I'll be back next season…I hope," she adds darkly, with a look at Duskull. He points her to the confessional room, which she enters.

**…**

**Qwilfish sits, looking slightly flatter than usual. "Well, it really sucks that it's come to this. At least I know who those losers are that voted for me. I have a bad sense of direction! That's not my fault. At least Mightyena wasn't trying-well, she was technically unconscious, so she couldn't try, but that's not the point!"**

**"First of all, I want Liepard, Buizel, or Onix to win. I've become great friends with all of them over the first few episodes. I'll miss you all, but do great for me!"**

**"What I ****_don't _****want is to see Porygon or any of the other losers who voted for me to win. Or Mightyena, that would be just as bad. Anyway, I'm done with this stupid confessional. I hate this place, but at least there were three or four Pokemon around here who I'm friends with. But I'm leaving, and if I come back next season, it'll only be for the money and to see them again. That's all."**

**…**

"Bye, guys," she said to Liepard, Buizel, Onix, and one or two others. In truth, most Pokemon weren't sad to see her go-she had been bratty and rude. Even some of the Dialgas were relieved that she had been kicked off, partly because they hadn't liked her and partly because Mightyena had been popular among both teams.

Qwilfish boarded the ship and left the island to see the previous three competitors-Mothim, Numel, and Glameow-that had been eliminated on Pokemon Loser Island.

"Is this the end of the episode?" asked Duskull. "No…this is a Halloween special!" At this, several campers looked at him funny, but he gestured to Totodile, who went on.

"So…we're having a Halloween party! We have a variety of costumes, several that fit each of you, and various candies around the cafeteria. Let's make this the best Halloween episode of anything ever shown on TV!" shouted Totodile. Duskull rolled his eye.

…

About an hour later, the party had started. Duskull, who was dressed as a ghost, asked Lickitung, who had become an evil chef, where Totodile was.

"I don't know," she said. "I haven't seen him since before the party started.

Suddenly, Totodile walked into the cafeteria from outside. He looked terrible-he was clearly wearing some kind of costume, but no one could tell what it was.

"Here's my costume," he announced. Duskull just stared in disbelief.

"What…are you?" asked Duskull. Lickitung had to restrain herself so she wouldn't laugh.

"You can't tell?" spat Totodile, disgusted. "Fine, then…I won't tell you."

Duskull continued staring his at his partner until finally, Lickitung broke down in laughter. Totodile spun around angrily. "At least I'm better than Marshtomp!"

"Marshtomp? Where's she?" asked Lickitung. Duskull pointed at the candy station to Marshtomp, who was dressed up like herself.

"Ah. I see."

…

"Hey, Torchic! That Piplup costume really looks good on you!" exclaimed Sentret, who was dressed up as an Emolga, complete with fake wings. "How do I look as an Emolga?"

"G-good," said Torchic nervously. He knew Sentret wouldn't, but he was still afraid that someone would laugh at his Piplup costume. He crossed his fingers.

"Come on, let's see if we can find Munchlax," suggested Sentret, pushing past a werewolf Mightyena (not many changed needed), Kricketune in a wizard costume that looked very realistic on him, Honchkrow as a vampire, and Monferno, who had come as a zombie.

Finally, they got to the end of the room, where the radio was playing. Next to the radio, a punch bowl was sitting, and drawing out a cup from it was…a Snorlax.

"Munchlax? You evolved?!" cried Torchic. "Wow, you're so big!"

The Snorlax turned around and smiled. It was really Wigglytuff. Torchic blushed. "S-sorry, Wigglytuff. I didn't mean to…"

"It's fine, Torchic. Have a good party!" the pink Pokemon exclaimed.

The Grim Reaper, who was really Sneasel, glided past them to have a conversation with a ninja Mawile. They both seemed to laugh a lot and have a very good time.

Sentret and Torchic approached them. "Hey, guys. Have you, um, seen Munchlax?"

"That way," suggested Sneasel. "You'll know him when you see him.

They continued past Swellow in a queen's outfit, Misdreavus as a witch, and Whimsicott as a mad scientist. Then they saw a giant apple stumbling through the cafeteria.

"That's gotta be him. Come on," said Sentret, tugging Torchic lightly to let him know it was time to go.

"Hey, guys!" said Munchlax through the small hole in his costume reserved for his face. "I was just at the candy table, and…I really should be going back. Want to come with me?"

Sentret rolled his eyes. This guy never changed.

…

Makuhita, who had dressed up as an emperor, heard Dragonair's musical laugh coming from next to him. He turned to look at the Dragon Pokemon, who was dressed up as an Arbok. She whispered to him, "Look up on stage."

His eyes followed hers and he saw Totodile in an argument with Duskull, with Lickitung and Roselia (a fairy princess) laughing off to the sides. Totodile was dressed up as something…but neither Makuhita nor Dragonair, or evidently Duskull, could tell what exactly he was supposed to be.

"He did almost as bad a job as me," commented Marshtomp wryly. Makuhita turned to Marshtomp, who wasn't wearing any Halloween costume at all.

"At least he…gave it some effort," Dragonair said, before she smiled and giggled again.

"Yeah...as for me, I couldn't care less. Though you do make an interesting Arbok, Dragonair," Marshtomp stated.

Makuhita jumped as he heard a loud crash. Looking over to the candy table area-well, Tropius was on the candy table, which was now broken.

"Sorry, everybody-I tripped…I'll try to fix it…" said Tropius, who, ironically, was wearing a Godzilla costume. He had destroyed the candy table like Godzilla destroyed Tokyo.

"Um…yeah, we'll just get another table. But if you break this one, too, you're paying this time," announced Duskull over the microphone on stage.

"That's, uh, fine," said Tropius, embarrassed. Meganium, dressed as a mummy, walked over to him and brushed him with her antennas, and he seemed to calm down. Both of them moved away from the candy table.

"Typical Tropius," muttered Marshtomp.

…

Kricketune, in his wizard costume, sat down, thinking of how Duskull had played "Ghost's Touch" during the maze. The song always made him feel depressed, and he hadn't fully recovered from that yet.

"What's up?" asked Kirlia, wearing a costume showing her as a mystic. Kricketune shrugged, but he saw Kirlia's face soften.

"You're depressed, aren't you? About the song Duskull used?" she guessed. Kricketune nodded.

"It was the last song my teacher taught me before he died."

"Oh...it must be hard for you. Well, I'm here, if you need me," she said, giving a comforting smile. "Want to go over and have a piece of cake? Lickitung made it, and it looks delicious."

"Okay," said Kricketune, slightly more cheerful after having Kirlia talk to him. The two walked over to the cake area and cut themselves some pieces, then talked and laughed and tried to forget about Kricketune's sadness, which worked very well.

...

Sitting down by a giant fake spider web (unless it was made by Spinarak) were Liepard and Buizel of Team Strike. Onix was somewhere in the distance. The two were chatting in the corner about Qwilfish's elimination. Liepard was dressed as a black cat, and Buizel was dressed as a devil.

"Unfortunately, we just lost one of our best players this round," said Liepard. Buizel looked at her in confusion.

"I'm sorry, but I just don't think Qwilfish was one of our best players. How do you see that?" he asked, making a mental note to store Liepard's response in his memory. He couldn't let her be team leader forever.

"Well, other than the fact that she was my friend-and yours too, I'm sure," said Liepard, looking into Buizel's eyes, "she was an amazing person at helping us vote for people. Remember how we had several other people convinced to vote with us for Mightyena? Most of them were due to Qwilfish. Even though she could be a bit, well, snobby, she was also very persuasive. Now that we've lost her, we've lost a good source of potential Pokemon who will vote with us."

"Do you think we should try recruiting someone else?" asked Buizel. "I think-"

Just then, Buneary, a cheerleader for Halloween, pulled Buizel aside. "Come on, Buizel! Let's go trick or treating!"

With a sorry glance at Liepard, he went along with Buneary, and they started kissing over by the candy table, pushing Plusle and Minun, wearing elf costumes, out of the way. Minun looked a bit angry, but Plusle pointed to the punch table, and they both scrambled to get there.

Liepard sighed. Alone again. She really would have to find somebody who was more reliable than Onix, but not distracted by a relationship like Buizel.

…

Zorua left the table she had been sitting at after a conversation with Kirlia and Whimsicott. While she didn't know either of them well, they both seemed like good Pokemon, and were fun to be around. She had wanted to ask Marshtomp a question, but then she bumped into somebody.

"Watch it!" she said, and the same response came from the other Pokemon. She looked at him. It was Riolu, in a vampire costume just like she was in.

"Uh…sorry, I'll…go," said Riolu, stuttering.

"Right…yes, I'll go too. Um, I'm going this way," she said, then smacked her head. She was such an _idiot! _Riolu was on the other team. Although from the way he looked at her and talked to her…no. She couldn't think about that. Her team would think she was trying to betray them if she ever tried to go out with Riolu. She could have been feeding him information if that was the case, and then…well, probably elimination. She couldn't risk going out with someone on the other team. Not if she wanted to win. And she did.

But she wanted Riolu too.

"Why me?" muttered the Tricky Fox Pokemon.

…

Late into the night, Duskull finally declared the party officially closed. While most Pokemon were tired, he wasn't. He started taking down decorations from Halloween all around camp after everyone had left the party. Totodile walked up to him.

"Hey, Duskull. What are your plans for the next challenge? It's in four days or so, right?" asked Totodile.

"Four days, yes. It was…well, it was suggested to me by a friend. I'll tell you later," promised Duskull. "But you really should get some sleep. I can do this on my own."

"Fine, I'll go," yawned Totodile. "Tell me later."

"I will," repeated Duskull. "Now go."

Totodile walked away, and Duskull had the rest of the night to plan for the next challenge. He got started on it immediately-there was quite a bit to do for this challenge.

…

And there you have it-Qwilfish was out. My original plan was to have Mightyena get out, actually, but I felt bad for her. Also, since I actually do pretend voting sessions and decide who votes for who, Qwilfish was the logical choice. I mean, nobody likes her!

I hope you liked this Halloween episode, it was meant to be a fun one, and while not a lot happens to progress the story, I think it wasn't a bad episode regardless. And all the interns except Kecleon were invented by me-credit for Kecleon goes to ballandcup!

I'd like to again recommend people to read ManaphySeaPrince and Seedot929's stories. Those are the accounts of my awesome brother, and if you like my stories, you might like his. At least give them a try.

Thanks to some of my friends on here, ballandcup, WhiteOwl74, and comma12321. You've all contributed a lot to my story to make it the way it is now, and for that I appreciate it. I hope you continue reading my stories, and I'll try reading yours!

Qwilfish, Glameow, Numel, and Mothim all recommend that you review. Anyway, that's all for today. I think now I'll work on a chapter or two of my other story, Pokemon Vanishing Shadows. While it's not much like this story, read it please! At the moment, I only have an (extremely short) prologue done, but that will change.

That's all for now. Long chapter was very long. Anyway, I'm grateful to anyone who reads these stories, but I'd like at least a review if you can spare the time.

Thanks everyone. See you later!


	6. Episode 6: Racing for Rings!

Hello, all you beautiful, smart, intelligent, amazing, cool, special, unique people (I'm attempting to see if flattery gets me more reviews :P). I'm back for another episode of PCI after a really long wait from the last one. I've been having very little time to write for the past couple of weeks, but I think after this, I'll be back up to my usual one chapter every week to week and a half-ish.

Anyway, here it is! I've got rid of another character, another one who I really wasn't expecting to get rid of so early. But it makes sense if you watched the real show...that's the only hint I'm giving you.

Time for my usual Q&A session that I started...last episode, I think. All right, here goes:

From MRYOSHI2002:

Can readers vote?

Well, yes, I've made a poll for you to decide who you think should win the show. Just vote for your favorite characters there. I only have 8 people total who have voted in my poll, but I really want to get everybody's opinion. Voting there will literally take a minute, so I'd highly advise it if you want to have any say in who wins the series. You can vote for up to fifteen, and the poll is on the top of my profile page.

Also, if you want to say something, like an idea for who to get out next, next episode's challenge, etc., just put it in a review. I can't always do exactly what you suggest-it is my story-but I want to know what everyone out there thinks. I'll seriously consider anything in a review before saying yes or no. Anyway, thanks!

No other questions or suggestions? Darn it. :(

Well, regardless of that, here it is!

Episode 6:

"Hello, people…ahem, Pokemon! Welcome to this next episode of PCI!" shouted Duskull, the smiling ghost host.

"Pokemon Challenge Island," added Totodile helpfully.

"Last episode, we had a Halloween maze! We got rid of Qwilfish, the snobby fish from the Perilous Palkia team!" said Duskull. "Then, we had an epic Halloween party made by me!"

"I helped!" complained Totodile.

"Yes, you did. Now go away," said Duskull.

"I get _no _respect," muttered Totodile in anger.

"Okay! So this episode, we'll be…well, we're going to wait to reveal the challenge to you as soon as we reveal it to the campers. So, see you later, it's 8:00 now and we're starting at lunch."

Suddenly the camera angle zooms and focuses on the ground.

"What's going on?" demanded Duskull. "Who turned the camera when I wasn't looking?"

**…**

**"I had nothing to do with it," says Totodile in the confessional, grinning.**

**…**

"I'm glad we're having a meeting-we haven't had one for such a long time!" said Minun cheerfully to her teammates, Plusle and Pachirisu.

"Yeah, I think it's been since the second episode," said Plusle thoughtfully.

Pachirisu was chugging a cup of coffee and eating tons of candy, which she always did so she'd continue being hyper.

Plusle looked at Pachirisu in curiosity. "Where do you get all that stuff?"

She grinned at him. "There are some things in life you'll never know…and this is one of them. I could get you some too, if you like!"

"I don't-" Plusle started, but Pachirisu had already zoomed away to get treats for him and Minun.

**…**

**"I don't know where that girl gets her energy," said Plusle, shaking his head. "Well, obviously from coffee and sugary candy, but still…where does she get that?"**

**…**

**"I like Pachirisu!" says Minun happily. "She's awesome! She finds ways to get us candy and stuff. It's pretty cool."**

**…**

Kirlia had been drawing in her cabin. She wanted to draw pictures of memorable events at camp if she could, because she loved art. She had always been talented at it too. Her latest picture that she was working on was one from the maze, when Kricketune had pushed her out of the way from Chandelure's fire.

She felt a gentle tap on her back and turned around to find Whimsicott behind her.

"Hey, Whimsicott! What's up?" asked Kirlia lightly.

Whimsicott returned that with a small smile, then spoke. "Could you come into the woods with me? We need to talk…it'll just be for a few minutes, I promise."

Kirlia hesitated-she had wanted to finish the picture, and going into the woods seemed a bit suspicious. But she trusted Whimsicott-the two of them had become good friends during the time they had spent here.

"Uh…okay."

"Great!" Whimsicott's face lit up. "I'm glad you're coming…it's really important."

**…**

**Kirlia sits on the chair, legs crossed. "I really like Whimsicott. She's smart and has a great sense of humor. What she's asking me to do is a little strange…but she's one of my best friends here."**

**…**

In the woods, Whimsicott found a few fallen trees and sat on the trunk of one. "I called you here today to form an alliance. Well, if you want to," she said, embarrassed.

"I'd love to!" Kirlia said, and she meant it. She had wanted to be in an alliance for a while, but she wasn't sure who she'd want to join. She was just glad somebody had asked her. "We're friends, after all."

"Okay, great. So, uh, is there anyone else you want to invite into the alliance?" asked Whimsicott curiously.

Kirlia thought for a second. She considered Swellow, but Swellow spent so much time with Zorua, Makuhita, and Marshtomp that she thought they must be an alliance. She liked Sneasel, but didn't really trust him. Finally, the answer came to her, so obvious that she could have smacked herself in the head.

"How about Kricketune?" she asked. Whimsicott considered it, then nodded.

"I'll ask him later," she promised. "But we might have to wait until after the challenge-I think it's starting at lunch."

"All right, cool. See you!" Kirlia called, leaving the forest to head back to the cabin.

**...**

**Whimsicott smiles and lets out a sigh of relief. "I'm happy I could get an alliance with Kirlia…and hopefully Kricketune. Alliances are always looked at as a bad thing, but they're not, really-just friends getting together for meetings and agreeing not to vote for each other. I don't even care if Kirlia votes with me as long as she doesn't vote against me. And I don't think she will."**

**…**

Froslass drifted into a deeper area in the woods where Gothorita and Porygon were waiting for another meeting of Team Frost.

"What's up?" asked Porygon, not taking his eyes off the computer screen, on which he was playing a video game. Gothorita turned her head and watched him curiously.

"I don't see the point in this game," she said flatly, and then turned to Froslass. Froslass gave her a light smile.

"Well, it's really very obvious. You're the one with the-" Porygon started, stopping as soon as he saw Froslass look like she was about to talk. "I guess you can talk, Froslass. I'll tell Gothorita about this later."

"I don't _want_ you to tell me about it later," she said.

"Fine," said Porygon mockingly. "But you're missing out."

"Oh, I'm sure."

**…**

**Gothorita sighs. "Porygon is so ****_annoying!"_**

**…**

**Porygon frowns. "Gothorita understands nothing about video games. At least Froslass has played a couple."**

**…**

"Eh-hem." Froslass cleared her throat. Gothorita and Porygon looked at her.

She continued speaking. "I've discovered today's challenge. And I think, if we work together, we can win," she said, whispering the challenge to Gothorita and Porygon.

Porygon shook his head in confusion. "I don't understand how working together will help us win this challenge. This seems like something we should all do solo."

"Not unless I know where to look. Which I do," said Froslass, smiling darkly.

**…**

**Froslass laughs. "I might have peeked at the list of where they're keeping things. Maybe a little bit."**

**…**

Buneary sat in her room, talking to Maractus, who was her friend despite being on the opposite team. They had been talking about a variety of things, but the topic now turned to Buizel.

"Honestly, Buneary, I'm so jealous! I don't know how you managed to get, like, a totally hot guy like Buizel when I still don't have anybody!" Maractus said, smiling.

"I don't, either," said Buneary dreamily. "He liked me from the very first challenge!"

"I wish I could go out with, like, Monferno or someone. But he's not even as good-looking as Buizel," said Maractus enviously.

"I know, right? Ooh, I've gotta go-Buizel said he'd meet me at the beach!" squealed Buneary.

"Oh my Arceus, that's, like, super awesome!" exclaimed Maractus. "Have fun, Buneary!"

"Bye, Maractus!" the Rabbit Pokemon shouted back.

**…**

**"Buizel is so hot…" Maractus gushes.**

**…**

**"I really like Buizel. He's so nice," says Buneary. "Really polite too. The only thing that's strange about him is his other friends…he hangs around with Liepard and Onix, and he used to hang around with Qwilfish too. OMA, do you think he's cheating on me for Liepard? What if he is?"**

**Her face suddenly calms. "Now I'm just being silly. He's my boyfriend, and he'd never ever do something like that!"**

**…**

**Duskull floats around in the confessional. "OMA? That stands for 'Oh My Arceus,' right? Not 'old mushroom anguish?' That's what Totodile said, but you can never trust him…"**

**…**

**Totodile has his arms crossed. "Well, it could be true. If you don't know what do with old mushrooms, you have old mushroom anguish…" Then he bursts into laughter.**

**…**

Monferno came down to the lake for a drink of water. As he did, he watched Buneary kissing Buizel and felt a stab of envy.

**…**

**Monferno blushes. "Buneary's really cute and all…I don't know how she trusts Buizel. There's something wrong with that dude, I know it."**

**…**

**Buizel laughs. "Buneary is so childish…she'll believe anything I tell her. It'll be incredibly easy to get her to vote with our team…"**

**…**

**Mawile looks at the camera seriously. "Why is everyone coming to this confessional? Seriously, there have been people coming and going for the past half hour."**

**…**

"So…what exactly do we do at team meetings?" asked Tropius awkwardly. Team Autumn had just arrived for their first meeting.

"It doesn't matter, really," said Haunter, who had been elected leader. "We can just talk about stuff…that's partly why we made the team."

"I brought some games!" said Wigglytuff cheerfully, removing three board games from her backpack.

Misdreavus's eyes lit up! "Oh, Wigglytuff, I love that game! Want to play?"

"Sure!"

…

"What do you suppose the challenge is going to be?" asked Mawile curiously to her alliance.

"A battle tournament, I hope! I wanna beat the *#%! out of some of those Palkias!" said Machoke.

Honchkrow rolled his eyes. For an immensely strong Pokemon, Machoke was very stupid. At least Mawile and Sneasel were more reasonable. "Excuse me, but I'd say the battle tournament won't be until we have 32 Pokemon remaining, most likely."

Machoke raised an eyebrow, and Sneasel finished for him. "32 would give us an even tournament so that everyone would be facing against one partner per round and we wouldn't have any automatic advances."

"Oh," said Machoke.

Sudden silence, which Mawile broke. "Who do you guys want to vote off?"

Machoke was the first to volunteer. "Plusle, Minun, or Pachirisu."

Sneasel contributed one more. "Uh, how about Munchlax?"

"Maractus," said Mawile. "She's so annoying!"

Honchkrow raised his wing, and the other three stopped talking. "Now we don't know for sure that we're going to lose. But if we do, we'll need a plan. I'll help you decide…"

**…**

**Honchkrow's mouth twitched. "We need to get rid of someone weak-they were all good choices. I want someone gone who can't help us win."**

**…**

**"I don't like keeping such a secret from Sneasel," whispered Mawile. "He deserves to know about Glameow…except I voted for her. I can't tell him…"**

** …**

**"Honchkrow's team is really cool," says Sneasel. "I'm glad I joined up with them. I'm sorry Team Claw couldn't stay in, but I'll try to win for Glameow with this team instead."**

**…**

Duskull and Totodile laughed as they watched this, picturing Glameow's face on Pokemon Loser Island.

…

"Hey, everyone! Get to the center of camp!" shouted a voice over the speaker system. Duskull.

"Why?!" asked Marshtomp, who had finally been able to sleep in.

Zorua poked her playfully. "Come on! I heard that this challenge was going to be easy!"

"Yeah, right," grumbled Marshtomp. "We'll see about that."

Marshtomp slipped out of bed and put her feet on the floor. As she did that, she felt something beneath her foot.

"Zorua, look at this," she called to the Tricky Fox Pokemon. "It's a golden ring."

"Cool, do you think it has something to do with the challenge?" asked Zorua.

"I don't know," said Marshtomp. She pushed the ring under her bed so it wouldn't be seen by everyone.

…

"Welcome, everybody, to the sixth episode and fifth elimination of Pokemon Challenge Island!" Duskull shouted enthusiastically to the remaining thirty-six campers. Totodile rolled his eyes.

"Let's explain the challenge, shall we, Totodile?" the Ghost-type boldly continued. Totodile started speaking.

"Sure, whatever. After the last challenge, Duskull hid 1000 rings around the camp," started Totodile. "Some of you might have seen them around…they're not all that well hidden, Mr. Host," said Totodile pointedly, looking at Duskull. The host glared back.

"Anyway," continued Totodile. "These rings are hidden around camp-in the cabins, in the forest, in the trees, everywhere you could possibly think of. Duskull and I know where they are, but Lickitung and Roselia do not, so don't ask them because they can't help you."

Totodile smiled as he saw some Pokemon's faces small. Many of them had been hoping to ask Lickitung and Roselia for hints, he assumed.

**...**

**Totodile grinned. "Oh, come on! We can't make it ****_that_**** easy!"**

**…**

Totodile resumed speaking. "We're giving you from now…" He checked his watch. "...that is, noon, until 6 P.M., which is when we'll count your rings over dinner. If you don't want your rings stolen, you bring them to the cafeteria, where they are safe and can't be taken or Lickitung will beat you with a spatula. Harshly. But before you get there, your rings are fair game. At the end of the episode both teams will go to the elimination ceremony, and the person with the least rings gets eliminated, and everyone else gets invincibility. The winning team will be the team that does not have this person. Any questions?"

Sentret's hand shot up. He was standing next to Munchlax and Torchic. Duskull called to him.

"Well, um, Torchic didn't want me to tell you this, but it's his birthday…maybe he should get a ring or something?" suggested the small brown Pokemon helpfully, gesturing to a shaking Torchic.

"You didn't have to tell them…" said Torchic.

"It's fine," Sentret assured him. "You deserve something on your birthday."

"Yeah!" Munchlax chimed in. Torchic smiled gratefully.

"Thanks, Sentret. And you too, Munchlax. You guys are the best."

"Eh-hem." Duskull cleared his throat. Everyone's eyes shot back to him. "All right, we've taken this into consideration, and we're giving you one ring…and a cupcake from Lickitung."

Duskull tossed over the ring, which Torchic caught, and the cupcake, which he did not. It landed on the ground in front of his feet.

Torchic, annoyed, said: "Really?" Duskull shrugged.

"Pssst…do you want that?" asked Munchlax. Torchic's head shook. "Didn't think so…I'll take care of it, then."

Munchlax shoved the remaining pieces of the cupcake into his mouth. "Now I'm done."

Duskull rolled his eye and started the challenge. "Get ready…get set…go!"

And everyone was off.

**…**

**Pikachu sits in the confessional. "I'm so excited for this challenge! I am amped!"**

**Suddenly he lets out a jolt of electricity. "Yeah, it gets literal when you're an Electric-type."**

**…**

**Mightyena sits in concentration. "If I'm thinking right, this is going to be a very competitive challenge. If two Pokemon see the same ring, they'll probably both go after it, and that will result in a fight. And your rings can get stolen before you get to the cafeteria, so…this will be a dirty competition, I think."**

**She growls fiercely. "I'm ready."**

**…**

**Porygon's voice is calm. "Froslass is going to help Gothorita and I find rings…she's given us a couple locations to look where there are a lot of rings."**

**…**

**Marshtomp's face is almost blank, but one corner of her mouth twitches in a smile. "One ring down, 999 more to go. Whoop."**

**…**

**Monferno looks anxious. "If Totodile put many of the rings underwater, I'm dead." He gulps.**

**…**

**Tropius smiles casually. "I'm working with Meganium…I'll look for rings in the treetops, and she'll look for ones on the ground. We'll split our rings evenly."**

**His look gets even more distant. "She's such a great girl. She's kind, funny, and beautiful. I'm really glad she's my girlfriend."**

**…**

**Makuhita frowns. "Swellow and I were planning to go with Zorua and Marshtomp, but we can't find them. Although, honestly, that might be a good thing. A big group would mean we'd have less rings to go around. Now, I'll only have to split between me and Swellow. I hope we all stay in…Swellow said she'd try to get us to the merge, and hopefully the finals."**

**…**

**Froslass laughs cruelly. "This is ****_so_**** easy! They're all fools!"**

**…**

"Come on, Marshtomp!" called Zorua, who had already arrived at the cabin. Marshtomp got there a few seconds later, and they found the ring Marshtomp had pushed under the bed.

"You have it," said Zorua. "You found it."

"Cool," said the Mud Fish Pokemon. "Now let's go find _you _something."

…

"Here, little rings!" said Kirlia jokingly. Kricketune, who had been collecting rings nearby, smiled at her, while Liepard bared her teeth.

Suddenly, behind a bush, a flash of gold revealed the presence of a golden ring there. Kirlia was tempted to shout out, but she kept it secret. If Liepard tried to steal it from her, she'd probably succeed, so it was better to keep it hidden. She put it in her backpack.

…

"Got one!" exclaimed Makuhita triumphantly. Swellow gave him a look of approval.

"Now we each have a ring. Come on, I think there might be some around Roselia's office," suggested Swellow. "Let's go there."

…

Around the campfire, campers were discovering rings practically under every seat. Dragonair had 3, Buneary had 1, Tropius and Meganium both had 2, and Buizel also had 3.

"Why'd they put so many over here?" asked Meganium.

"They probably thought that it was such an obvious location, no one would look here," Dragonair said in her soft voice.

"Or Duskull was too lazy to wander into the forest and put away rings."

Duskull's voice came over the loudspeakers. "HEY! I HEARD THAT!"

Then the voice becomes Totodile's. "Yeah, good job Buizel!"

"HEY, WHAT THE-"

**...**

**Buizel is snickering, paying no attention to the camera.**

**…**

Froslass smiles. "We've been doing well. There are lots of rings hidden out here…I have 9 now, and you each have 8."

Porygon looks around, mystified. "There are a lot more rings out here than I could have ever pictured."

"Of course," says Froslass. "You just have to know where to look. By the way, Gothorita, see that hole in the tree? There's one in there."

Gothorita reached into the tree and pulled out a golden ring. "How do you remember all this?" she asked.

"I have good memory," said Froslass evasively. "Come on."

…

At the moment, Honchkrow was working with Machoke to find rings. He had been collecting ones at the tops of trees (so far, four) while Machoke had been collecting ones hidden in the trees (giving him a total of five).

"I see another one!" Honchkrow called to his partner. He dove for it and got it. This competition was easy, and he hadn't seen any other teams with more than 3 rings total. Too bad for them! They couldn't fly.

…

"Got one!" said Whimsicott, holding up a ring. Unfortunately, she noticed that Mawile had been doing the exact same thing with the ring that she was holding.

"Hey! That's mine!" exclaimed Mawile.

"Uh, I found it first…" said Whimsicott.

"No, I did," said Mawile. "You went after it after you saw that I was trying to get something."

"No, I didn't!" Whimsicott protested hotly. "We can get an agreement. How many rings do you have?"

"Three," said Mawile icily. Whimsicott nodded. "Me too."

"Then we'll battle!" says Mawile, launching herself at Whimsicott while using a Bite attack. Whimsicott was about to use Protect when suddenly both of them were launched into the air, and the ring was knocked out of Whimsicott's hand. She just had enough time to look and see Onix's tail disappearing behind some trees.

…

"AAAAH!"

Zorua turned around and saw Whimsicott and Mawile lying in the clearing, dazed. Zorua had been looking for another ring-one that would give her a total of three. She was pretty sure that the two girls had not been lying there before.

"Are you okay?" she asked. They both nodded, so she walked away.

As she left the clearing, she noticed a glittering on the ground. It was a ring. "Sweet!"

…

Five hours later, all the campers had found at least twenty rings. Much of the camp was in chaos.

At the moment, Pachirisu and Onix were fighting for the ownership of a ring, and Maractus was attacking Makuhita for more rings since she had a low amount.

Sneasel of the Dialgas and Wigglytuff of the Palkias were injured at some point during the event, so they were taken to the infirmary and given invincibility. Since Sneasel had already been healed but had lost a good deal of time, he was sitting in a lawn chair watching the event with Duskull, Totodile, and Lickitung.

Suddenly, Sneasel had an idea. "Uh, Duskull, Totodile…since I'm not participating in the challenge anymore, could I give my rings to someone else?"

The two hosts looked at each other. Duskull slowly nodded. "I guess that'd be acceptable."

"Yeah, sure," Totodile shrugged.

Sneasel grinned.

**…**

**"I had 15 rings," he explains. "So 5 will go to Honchkrow, 5 will go to Machoke, and 5 will go to Mawile. That might put them in the lead…except for maybe Froslass, Gothorita, and Porygon. They've been doing really well, somehow."**

**…**

**Wigglytuff sits in the confessional, smiling. "They told me I can split up my rings, just like Sneasel! I had 17 when I got out, so I'll give 5 to Meganium and 4 to the other members of Team Autumn!"**

**…**

Tropius turned around, startled to hear a voice on the loudspeaker. Unfortunately, he tripped over a root and fell into a tree full-force.

"Ow," he muttered.

Duskull's voice stopped talking and asked a question. "Uh, Tropius, you okay? I saw that on the camera. If you want to go to Roselia's office, that's fine."

"No, I'll be fine," he said through clenched teeth.

"O-kay, then. If Honchkrow, Machoke, Mawile, Meganium, Tropius, Haunter, and Misdreavus could report to the center of camp? We have a gift for you. You'll appreciate it. Duskull out."

Tropius wondered what kind of gift Duskull could have given them, but decided not to ask. Instead, he made his way back to the center of camp.

…

Haunter arrived at the center of camp, realizing that he was the last one to do so. All six other Pokemon that had been called had arrived. He noticed that all of Team Autumn had been called except Wigglytuff. Wigglytuff was sitting in a lawn chair by Duskull, Totodile, and Sneasel.

Duskull began talking. "All right, campers, I've called you here-"

Wigglytuff interrupted. "Hi, guys!" she said, waving at her teammates.

Duskull continued with an annoyed edge to his voice. "I've called you here to give-"

Wigglytuff interrupted _again. _"This lawn chair is comfy!"

Duskull's eyes flashed, but he boldly continued. "I have called you here because Sneasel and Wigglytuff are-"

"What? Who said my name?" asked Wigglytuff, confused.

"SHUT UP!" yelled Duskull, turning and staring at Wigglytuff.

For a few seconds, she looked scared, then her face relaxed. "Oh. It was you."

"Can I talk now? Okay, thanks," he continued without a pause for answering. "All right, Sneasel and Wigglytuff have both been injured in some way during the challenge, but they each had a few rings. And, since you guys are their friends, they're giving the rings to you in return for invincibility! Isn't that nice?" he asked. "Totodile, pass out the rings."

Totodile pulled out a sheet of paper with the amount of rings and name of who would receive them on it. "Honchkrow, Machoke, Mawile, and Meganium, come up here and get five rings. Tropius, Haunter, and Misdreavus, that leaves you with four each."

The Pokemon all came up to collect their rings. Team Shadow all left, but Team Autumn (minus Wigglytuff) converged for a quick meeting near the woods.

"How many rings do you have?" asked Haunter quickly. "I've got 35."

"36, thanks to Wigglytuff," said Meganium happily.

"I've got 38," said Misdreavus. "Oh, am I winning?"

"Yeah, I only have 34," said Tropius.

"We're all doing well, then," said Haunter, relieved. "I've seen some Pokemon who still have 25 or 26, and I think some have less."

...

"I only have 23 rings!" panicked Shieldon. "I should have more than this!"

"Calm down," instructed Riolu. "I have 27, so you can have 2 of them. We'll each have 25, then. Okay?"

"All right," said Shieldon, relieved. "Thanks, Riolu, you're an awesome friend."

Riolu smiled. "I appreciate it. Come on, let's go find more rings. Oh, have you seen Pikachu yet?"

"No," Shieldon admitted. "Otherwise I would have asked him how many he had."

"We'll try to find him," said Riolu. "He's got good eyesight and he's smart, he'll do fine."

…

After seemingly forever, it was almost the finishing time.

"Why did I have to lose Plusle?" Minun asked. "I guess I'll go return my rings to camp."

She opened her backpack and realized that all of the rings she had were gone-and she had only left a few rings at camp.

"Oh, no! What will I do?" she cried frantically.

In the bushes, Liepard grinned, then rushed away.

…

In a different part of the camp, Maractus was lying on the ground. Under Machoke's fist.

"Give me all the rings you have with you," he said. She trembled-she hadn't gone back to camp for a long time. She gave him the rings she had.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, a blue form knocked into Machoke. He dropped some of the rings, but he still fled into the forest, not wanting further punishment.

Maractus got up and saw who the Pokemon was. It was Dragonair, from the Palkias.

"Wait, Dragonair? You're, like, a Palkia, right? Why would you help a Dialga like me?" asked Maractus.

Dragonair gave a gentle smile. "We're not mortal enemies, you know, being on opposite teams. Machoke seems like a threat to both teams. And you didn't deserve to be punished by a bully like him," she said. "Don't let yourself be pushed around. Stand up for yourself."

And with that, the Dragon-type made her way back to camp, and Maractus collected her few remaining rings.

…

Haunter was making his way back to camp when he saw a ring lying on the ground. He picked it up and went to put it in his backpack when he noticed a hole.

He cursed. "I should've known not to use this old backpack," he muttered. "Oh, well, most of my rings are back at camp. I hope I won't get out, though."

**…**

**Machoke laughs a booming laugh. "I hope that Maractus idiot gets out."**

**…**

**Liepard smiles, then flashes her claws. "I cut open the bottom of Minun's backpack, as well as Haunter's. That should put me well ahead of where I need to be. I hope Minun gets out-Haunter's on my team, and he's at least fairly competent at whatever he does."**

**…**

**Whimsicott frowns angrily. "This challenge really turned some Pokemon into jerks. I had to fight with a lot of Pokemon today, and some were on my own team! Really, what is this?"**

**…**

**Makuhita's face is neutral. "I've got about an average number of rings. It's really high compared to the number of some Pokemon's rings, but others…how the heck did Froslass, Gothorita, and Porygon get as many as they did?"**

**…**

**Sneasel sits with his hands folded behind his head. "Being out gave me invincibility, and the opportunity to both relax and to help out my team. Thanks to me, they're all pretty much guaranteed to be saved.**

**…**

**Pachirisu sits drinking a cup of coffee. "Oh my Arceus, this is good!" she says rapidly. "I think I did super-awesome in today's challenge 'cause I had lots of coffee beforehand, and I'm also super-quick and stuff! Go Team Spark!"**

**…**

**Minun's eyes are downcast. "It's going to be me going home…"**

**…**

**Maractus is sobbing. "Please don't let this, like, be it or anything…"**

**…**

**Haunter's determined. "I don't want to get out, but honestly? I've played a good game. If I do go home, I'll say goodbye to Tropius, Meganium, and Wigglytuff…" He smiles slyly. "…and give Misdreavus a kiss and tell her how I feel."**

**…**

Duskull pulled out his megaphone and shouted into it. "WELCOME TO THE 5TH ELIMINATION CEREMONY OF TOTAL POKEMON ISLAND! WHEN I READ YOUR NAME, COME GET A RIBBON. THAT MEANS YOU'RE SAFE. GOT IT?"

Totodile rolled his eyes. "They've been doing this for four episodes, genius."

Duskull scowled. "They might forget it. You never know. Anyway, I get paid for this, might as well talk as much as I want to."

"You just like to hear your own voice," muttered Totodile.

"First ribbons go to: Froslass, Gothorita, and Porygon!"

The three Pokemon with the most ribbons got up to claim them.

Duskull read three more names. "Honchkrow, Mawile, and Machoke…you guys all got donations."

Team Shadow (minus Sneasel) went up to claim their ribbons.

"Nextly…Liepard, Misdreavus, and Munchlax," said the Ghost-type.

"Nextly?" asked Totodile.

"It should be a word," said Duskull, shrugging. He stared at Misdreavus for a while before Totodile slapped him and asked Munchlax a question.

"Uh, Munchlax…sorry for asking, but how did you get such a high place?" asked Totodile.

"The rings smelled a bit like cookies!" he said matter-of-factly.

Kricketune held one up to his nose. "Actually, they do," he confirmed.

"Okay, that's really weird…anyway, come on up, Dragonair and Meganium!"

The two Palkia girls went up and claimed their ribbons.

"Tropius!" Duskull called. The giant Grass-and-Flying-type went up and claimed his ribbon.

"Buizel and Swellow!" he called. Both of them confidently received their ribbons. Buizel winked at Buneary, who started getting dizzy and falling over. Monferno and Pikachu caught her.

"Pachiris-" Duskull started, but she had already sped up and claimed her ribbon before he could finish her name.

"Next up…Kricketune, Makuhita, and Zorua!" The three Dialgas went up to claim their ribbons. Makuhita and Zorua sat down next to Swellow. Marshtomp noticed them giving her a worried glance, so she lazily held her hand up and waved.

"Whimsicott and Marshtomp!" Marshtomp mouthed an 'I told you so' before going to sit with her team.

"All right…after this, we're down to the last ten of you," said Totodile ominously. "There are fourteen of you left sitting here…which four are not in the last ten?"

"Sentret, Pikachu, Kirlia, and Mightyena, come up and get your ribbons!" he announced. The four Pokemon's faces visibly grew happier as they went up to claim the ribbons.

Riolu, Shieldon, Plusle, Minun, Haunter, Torchic, Onix, Monferno, Maractus, and Buneary remained. They all sat on the edge of their seats. Duskull read three more names.

"Monferno, Riolu, and Shieldon, you're good. Come on up." The three of them went over and sat by Pikachu, who welcomed them to sit next to him.

In the remaining seven, there was lots of chatter.

"Darn it, it's not Monferno!" Onix growled. Maractus and Torchic edged away from him.

Plusle and Minun quietly talked in back. "I lost some of my ribbons, Plusle! I have way less than you do!" Minun whispered frantically.

"Why didn't you tell me before?" demanded Plusle. "I would have given you some!"

"I only just got here before the campfire ceremony began, remember?" she asked. "I only had time to sit down!"

"Let's hope it's somebody else," said Plusle, worried. "I don't think it'll be me…but Haunter and Maractus don't have many.

Duskull let them have the long break before announcing two more. "Torchic and Plusle!" The pair walked over to the 'safe' side, with Plusle casting a regretful glance at Minun.

"Onix and Buneary…you had the least rings out of the people that nothing happened to. It would have been one of you going home if these three hadn't been so unlucky. Either way, take your ribbons," Duskull announced. The three remaining Pokemon sat rigidly, barely moving a muscle.

"The third last ribbon goes to…Haunter." The Ghost Pokemon sprang up and went to sit by his team. They all celebrated as he came close to them.

Maractus and Minun sat alone. Maractus whispered. "Sorry if you, like, go home. I didn't want it to be, like, me versus you. You're a decent Pokemon," she said, giving a shaky smile. Minun returned it and said, "Thanks, you too."

"The final ribbon…of episode five…goes to…"

He drew the whole line out, before finally saying the last word.

"Maractus, who had just one more ring than Minun. Sorry, Dialgas, but this one goes to the Palkias! Minun, last confessional in a few minutes."

…

Minun stared in shock, and she felt as if the world was spinning. She wasn't ready for elimination.

"Minun…are you okay?" Plusle asked, concerned and sympathetic.

"I'm fine," she said, straightening up. She saw Plusle, Pachirisu, Maractus, and many others of her friends staring at her.

"I'm, like, seriously sorry," said Maractus. Her eyes were sympathetic. "It, like, could have been anyone…"

"It's fine," insisted Minun.

Suddenly, Pachirisu slammed into her. "Minun! Why?! You shouldn't have to go home!"

"I'm…fine…get off me, please," she commanded. Pachirisu let go of her friend.

"Look, you guys," she whispered to Plusle and Pachirisu. "You've been awesome friends. Just keep close to each other-you can still be Team Spark without me. If it wasn't for this automatic elimination, I'd still be here, right?" she asked. "You need each other to protect you. I probably wouldn't have been voted off if not for this twist in the elimination ceremony, and you guys are really my best friends. Do it for me, okay?" she asked. A tear formed in her eye. She turned to Maractus.

"Maractus, thanks for…well, being nice to me after my elimination. I hope you do well, too," said Minun. She stuck her hand out for Maractus to shake it, and Maractus accepted. "Thanks. I hope you, like, have an awesome time on PLI."

"PLI? Pokemon Loser Island?" questioned Minun.

"Uh, yeah," said Maractus. "It just sounds nicer when you say it without the, you know, loser part."

"Oh…well, thanks," said Minun.

Minun also said goodbye to Sentret, Torchic, Munchlax, Kirlia, Kricketune, Buneary, Pikachu, Zorua, Meganium, Tropius, and several others. A lot of campers didn't think that she deserved to go home, and she had quite a few friends. Finally, she made her way over to the confessional.

**…**

**There are tears in Minun's eyes as she speaks. "Uh…I really don't know what to say. Honestly, when Plusle and I got on this show, we didn't expect for either of us to make it past the fourth episode. I didn't make it far past, but it's an accomplishment, and I've had a wonderful time here."**

**She pauses. "This game isn't as hard as you'd think. I've made friends, and doing just that is a lot of what keeps you in the game for a long time. Arceus knows, I'm not the most talented Pokemon, but I've made some friends, and that's good enough for me."**

**"I'm rooting for Pachirisu or my brother to win. Team Spark can do this! If not, Maractus, Sentret, Torchic, Munchlax, Kirlia…they're all nice Pokemon. I won't be disappointed if almost anyone wins, though…except whoever it was that put that hole in the bottom of my backpack and stole my rings. Whoever that is needs to learn to play fair!"**

**"I've had an amazing time here, had a great time with my brother and my best friend, and I've done some really cool stuff. I'll really miss you, Pokemon Challenge Island!" she finishes.**

**…**

Minun boarded the boat after collecting her luggage and saying her final goodbyes to Pachirisu and Plusle. She waved to everyone on the island, and most of the campers waved back. She eventually disappeared over the horizon, and after watching her go, most campers left to go to sleep. But a few who weren't ready to go stayed out and watched the moon reflecting on the water.

…

"Wow…this looks nice," admitted Minun to the four Pokemon in front of her: Mothim, Numel, Glameow, and Qwilfish.

"I know, right?" Glameow purred. "This place is a resort…the information they hold from you. I can only imagine what kinds of secrets Duskull and Totodile are holding from the campers still at camp."

"Dude, he's a tough host," Mothim agreed.

"Minun, your room is Room Number 5," said a waitress, a Flying-type Pokemon whose name she couldn't remember.

"Alright, thanks," said Minun.

Numel yawned. "It's really nice here…you don't have to do anything."

"True!" exclaimed Qwilfish. "Plus their bubble baths are not to be messed with."

"…'Kay then," said Minun slowly.

"It's almost better than winning the million dollars…you get a long stay at a fancy resort for free," said Glameow. "Anyway, you might as well get adjusted. Go explore, and if you need anything, just ring the bell for a waiter or waitress,"

"Got it," said Minun, smiling. "This might not be so bad!"

…

Here we go! Minun got out in the fifth elimination, just as Katie did in the real TDI. Which leaves Plusle/Sadie in for a while.

I wanted to do a part at Pokemon Loser Island for a bit, so I decided to do it this episode since Minun is the first genuinely likeable character I've sent here since Mothim. Was I sad about getting rid of Minun? Eh, maybe a bit. But Plusle is going to kick (Liepard's) butt after he finds out that it's her fault that his sister was eliminated.

Kirlia and Whimsicott are about to ally with Kricketune. Will he accept? Who knows.

I have a general plot structure for the next few episodes planned out, but it's subject to change. Just let me know what you'd like me to do and I'll see if I can do it.

Dragonair sticks up for Maractus, who's on the opposite team. For a character who's talked roughly four times in the entire thing, Dragonair's turning out to be a more interesting character than I thought she'd be.

Next time on Pokemon Challenge Island: Prepare to be knocked out as the Pokemon get involved in a dodgeball challenge! Who will stay in and who will get knocked aside? Hit me with a review and help decide!

Bad dodgeball puns. Bad, bad dodgeball puns.

Anyway, please review! Minun will give you a hug, and who wouldn't want a hug from Minun?

Minun: Review! Do it for me, and Plusle, and Minun, and your favorite character! Unless your favorite character was one of us, but you still have to review either way!


	7. Episode 7: Dodge or Don't!

All right, after a little while I'm back with another chapter. This time it's about dodgeball! Q&A time!

From ballandcup:

Q: If Munchlax eats a dodgeball, does that count as him catching it?

A: All will be revealed ;)

From hi:

Q: How do you get to the post?

A: Sorry, I'm not sure what you mean...if you could review again and be more specific I'd be glad to help you though.

From Rera and WhiteOwl74:

Q: Will there be a relationship between Kricketune and Kirlia?

A: Well, you were thinking along the same lines! Yes, that's the plan. Don't they make a good couple? I actually didn't have this one planned, but seriously, it really works!

All right, as an honest message from me: I really hope that more of you reading this will start Pokemon and Total Drama Island stories like this one and Dark Amphithere's! You can read another good one by Seedot929, my brother. There are quite a few stories like these, but most of them only have one to two chapters. I'd encourage you to write some like these! I could use the competition. ;)

This chapter...is honestly probably my favorite chapter up until now. So please enjoy it, this one was amazing to write!

…

Episode 7:

"Hiya, people!" exclaimed Duskull energetically. "I'm the host, and this is the co-host, Totodile, of the most amazing show ever to air on what you know as television, Pokemon Challenge Island!"

Totodile frowned. "Uh, Duskull? You've re-introduced us every episode since-"

Duskull continues, ignoring Totodile. "Today, we'll be playing dodgeball! The rules are simple…you throw a ball and try to hit people. If a ball is being thrown at you, dodge it or catch it, otherwise you're out. Now, let's have lunch…I'm really hungry."

"I'll go, too…Lickitung's making soup," said Totodile, thinking of the delicious cooking of their chef.

…

"Are you okay, Plusle?" asked Whimsicott as she passed him by. Plusle sighed-he had been without his sister for five days already, and people were still asking him. He was fine-Minun had already contacted him on video-chat between their laptops. He missed her, but she helped him keep focused on winning.

"Uh, yeah," he said, giving her a reassuring smile. Seeming satisfied, she left.

Pachirisu came to sit by him and watched him play his game on his DS. "What game is that?" she asked.

"Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Time," answered Plusle. "It's one of my favorites. I'm a Pikachu on this game, which is a little awkward considering that there's another Pikachu here…"

"Oh, I have that game! That's one of my favorites! And the end is so sad! But it's an amazing game, I'm glad they're coming out with another one soon!" she exclaimed. "How far in the game are you?"

"I can't beat the Luxray and Luxio tribe," he said. "Minun's way better at video games than me. She already beat it."

"I'll help you!" offered Pachirisu cheerfully. "Here, let me borrow it. I'll get you through this place and beat the boss for you!"

After a few minutes, Pachirisu had successfully beaten the boss for Plusle. She held his DS back out to him, and he reclaimed it from her.

"Thanks for the help. I didn't think I'd ever get through that place," said Plusle. "I could've asked Minun, but I didn't want her to think I was that helpless."

"No, you weren't helpless. You just had a tough situation," said Pachirisu. She checked her watch. "Oh my Arceus! Time for coffee! Bye, Plusle!"

He waved in response, but she was already out the door.

…

Whimsicott peered through the bushes, with Kirlia sitting closely by her. The two of them were watching the area to see when they could catch Kricketune alone without a big crowd around him to make it seem like they were doing anything suspicious.

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" asked Kirlia. "I feel like such a…stalker."

"We're not stalking him, we're just trying to talk to him alone," her friend reminded her. "There's a huge difference."

"If you say so," Kirlia replied, not entirely convinced.

Kricketune sat at the campfire talking with a few other Pokemon from the Dialgas. Eventually, he left to go back to the cabin. Whimsicott and Kirlia caught him then.

"Psst! Kricketune!" called the two girls after looking around and making sure no one could possibly have seen them.

He looked around like he wasn't sure that he had heard right, then shrugged and turned back to camp. They called to him again, more desperately, and came out of the bushes. He saw them that time.

"Kirlia? Whimsicott? What's up? Did you call me before?" questioned the Cricket Pokemon.

"Yes," answered Whimsicott quickly. "Can you come with us? Just for a minute?"

"What for?" he asked, still suspicious.

"Just come with us! Don't you trust us?" Kirlia pleaded.

He stared at her before finally giving in. "I'll come," he sighed. "But this better be good."

"It is…it's important," Kirlia promised.

Whimsicott led them to her room in the cabin she shared with three other Dialga girls-Kirlia, Mawile, and Maractus. Glameow had also had a room in that cabin, but she had left on episode four.

Sitting on the bed and pulling over chairs for the other two, Whimsicott started talking. "Kricketune, me and Kirlia made an alliance, and we were hoping you'd like to join."

Kirlia stared at Kricketune with wide eyes. She had debated about using them-she hated trying to charm people with her looks because it was dishonest and cruel. Whimsicott agreed, but pointed out that they weren't trying to get Kricketune to do anything bad. Eventually, Kirlia gave in to Whimsicott's persuasion.

Kricketune was startled at having been offered on to the team, but he truly liked both of them. Whimsicott was a nice girl with a good sense of Kirlia, and Kirlia was…one of his best friends on the island. She was kind, funny, smart, independent, musical…and absolutely, stunningly beautiful. He couldn't picture any way she could be better-looking, except if she was a Gardevoir. But even so, a Pokemon like her didn't even need that.

One of the other things he liked about her was the way she acted. From looking at her, you might think she was a girly-girl, but that was as far from the truth as you could get. She was actually really tough, and able to stand up for herself. She played video games a lot, and had actually introduced Kricketune, who rarely (if ever) played video games, to quite a few. Although she was in dance classes, she didn't dance to just emotional, sad songs like many Pokemon assumed-most of what she danced to was rock and pop. She was really almost everything Kricketune had ever looked for in a girl-and this was a chance to get closer to her and Whimsicott, another good friend.

"Yes," he heard himself say. The other two smiled. "But don't alliances usually get targeted in these types of shows? Because they usually consist of bad Pokemon? I'm not referring to you two, but…"

"Actually, there are lots of alliances in the show. Minun was in one with Plusle and Pachirisu before she left," said Kirlia.

"Oh," said Kricketune.

Suddenly, Whimsicott frowned. "I just realized something…we really need a team name. Something that describes us. Got any ideas?"

Kirlia blushed. "I thought of Team Melody…but that's probably a bad idea…"

"I like it!" Kricketune volunteered.

"I was going to suggest something else, but I'm overpowered by you two. Is this going to happen a lot?" said Whimsicott, eyes glittering mischievously.

"What do you mean?" Kricketune demanded.

"Oh, nothing," she said, winking at him. "You'll get it eventually, I think. If you don't already…"

**…**

**Whimsicott laughs. "They're in love. You'd have to be blind as a Zubat not to see it. They both glance at each other every opportunity that they get, and neither one realizes the other one likes them back."**

**…**

**Kricketune sits down solemnly. "I like Kirlia…a lot. But as far as I can tell, she wants to be friends, nothing more. Unless she just doesn't think that I like her, but maybe she'd like me if she knew. It's so tough, this love thing…"**

**…**

Misdreavus and Haunter were floating through the woods, alone. Meganium, Wigglytuff, and Tropius had wanted to have a team meeting, but they had understood when the two had said they needed to go for a walk alone through the woods. It was complicated sometimes, having a couple and an almost-couple, plus one other Pokemon, all on one team. They all watched out for each other, but it was harder for them to have meetings than for the other teams.

Misdreavus floated over to a tree. "This would be the spot, I think."

They both approached each other…and started kissing. They had both silently decided to have their first kiss in this place-the dead trees all around represented the fact that they were both Ghost-types, and held a dark sort of beauty to them.

Both of them had just kissed for a second when horns blared and they heard a loud voice over the speaker system saying, "All campers, get to the gymnasium! And yes, we have one of those, if you were wondering. If you're not sure where it is, talk to Lickitung, because she'll give you directions. See you at the gym!"

Then Totodile's voice came over the speaker system. "Now, beat it! Or I'll beat you!"

Haunter sighed. "It's just like Duskull to announce a challenge at this moment, isn't it?"

"Yes," said Misdreavus wistfully. "Of course, we can do this later, right?" the Ghost Pokemon asked, a mischievous sparkle in her eye, which Haunter returned in his.

"Of course, beautiful."

They both returned to camp, side by side.

**…**

**Misdreavus smiles and shakes her head. The playful look was still in her eyes. "I don't know what it is about him…he brings out the other side of me…a crazy side, almost. I feel like I could go to a party right now...yeah! Except I have a challenge…"**

**…**

**Haunter grins wickedly. "That girl is something else." Then he stops smiling. "Got to get ready for the challenge…where is the gymnasium, anyway?"**

**…**

**Swellow eyes the camera doubtfully. "Gym? What gym?"**

**…**

**Pachirisu jumps up and down, screaming. "I have no idea where the gym is, but I don't really care! I just want sugar!"**

**…**

**Wigglytuff smiles. "I hope the gym is nice…"**

**…**

**Mawile frowns. "Okay, obviously no one's heard of the gym…"**

**…**

**Buizel slams his head against the wall. "Lickitung doesn't even know where the gym is…so now we're stuck here until either Duskull or Totodile comes to get us. And I hate relying on those two."**

**…**

**Gothorita's eyes are closed. "How are we supposed to find the gym when nobody knows where it is, not even the person who's supposed to know?" she says, barely containing her fury.**

**…**

**Pikachu sighs. "This is frustrating."**

**…**

In the center of camp, all the campers were assembled, waiting for Duskull or Totodile to return for them. Most of them were doing something like talking, drawing in the dirt, or playing a small game. Finally, their hopes were answered.

"Here we are!" shouted Duskull and Totodile, each carrying a white ball, which they both threw randomly into the crowd. Duskull's hit Tropius's neck, while Totodile's hit Machoke. Both Pokemon glared murderously at the hosts, but they relentlessly continued their talk.

"Okay, why did none of you come to the gym?" asked Duskull. "We told you to ask Lickitung if you didn't know."

"She didn't know either!" shouted Porygon.

"Oh, and that's our problem?" asked Duskull.

"Uh, technically, yes."

"I think not! But anyway, we're here to take all you losers to the gym for a game of dodgeball in the gym! The rules will be explained once we get there, but they're pretty much standard dodgeball rules, so have a fun time with this one!"

All the Pokemon followed Duskull and Totodile to the gym, which was surprisingly close considering that no one had known where it is.

On his way in, Torchic stopped to ask Duskull a question. "Are there any other places on this island we're going to be using that we don't know about?"

Duskull laughed for a few seconds, before answering, "Yes. Oh, yes."

Torchic frowned, trying to make out meaning in Duskull's answer, then shrugged and went in with everyone else.

…

Once everyone had been herded inside, Duskull held up his beloved megaphone to his mouth and started shouting at everyone as usual.

"Today, we've decided to make you play dodgeball! All you have to do is throw the balls at the people on the other team. If you hit them, they're out! If they catch it, you're out! If you miss entirely, well, it's fair game to be thrown again. Any questions?" asked Duskull.

"Uh, we have one less player than they do…" said Zorua.

"I said questions. That was a statement. Put it in the form of a question."

Zorua gritted her teeth. "What happens when we have one less player than they do?"

Duskull stuck out his tongue at her. "Too bad! Should have found a way to keep Minun in last episode! Sucks for you!"

**…**

**"I wouldn't be so mad if he just said we can't do anything about it. It's just the way he tells it to you," said Zorua, crinkling her nose. "I hate that guy."**

**…**

"No more questions?" asked Duskull. Totodile nudged him and pointed at Onix. "Okay, Onix."

"I HAVE no arms! What am I supposed to DO?" rumbled Onix. Dragonair nodded her head in agreement.

"Tough! You'll have to find a way to throw them. You're smart Pokemon…well, maybe. We didn't actually check you're IQs before you came on here, so we're giving you benefit of the doubt," said Duskull. "Totodile's the referee…and if one of the balls goes out of bounds and/or hits one of us, you're out! So don't try it, as much as you're tempted."

**…**

**"He always finds a way to ruin your day," Marshtomp mutters.**

**…**

Totodile checked his watch. "Let the game begin in three…two…one…now!"

…

Honchkrow immediately flew away from the center, where all the volleyballs were. He went to wait near the back of the court. It was less likely that he would be hit there, but he knew he had a good throwing wing and would be able to target people on the other side even from as far back as he was.

He dodged a ball from Gothorita and threw it back over. It hit Meganium, making her the first Pokemon from either team to be hit. She walked over to the sidelines and sat, cheering for her team.

Honchkrow also targeted Pikachu, and after several attempts, hit him as well, making him the second Pokemon eliminated. Now, he decided to lie low and let the rest of his team play some dodgeball for a change.

…

"Sneasel, to the left!" shouted Makuhita to Sneasel, who just managed to avoid a ball coming at him from Riolu. Makuhita picked one up and aimed it at Misdreavus, but missed.

He looked over to his left and saw Mawile get hit full-force with a dodgeball from Buizel, who was sitting over on the Palkias' side, looking cocky.

"I'll wipe that smirk off his face," muttered Makuhita. He threw another dodgeball to the Palkias' side. Buizel, one of their best players, only just managed to dodge it.

…

"Aah!" cried Maractus as a dodgeball whizzed past her. She hid behind Swellow, who was throwing dodgeballs quickly. Swellow turned around, annoyed.

"What are you doing?" asked Swellow, with an edge to her voice. "You should be out there helping us defeat the Palkias." She lobbed one at Dragonair, which the Dragon avoided by twisting her body.

"I know, but I don't like dodgeball! If they come at you too fast, you could get hurt!" said Maractus, staring up at the large bird Pokemon.

Swellow looked like she wanted to say more, but a well-timed dodgeball from Gothorita ended up knocking her out from the game.

**…**

**Swellow smacks her forehead with a wing. "I got out because I was talking to the stupid cactus. I hope somebody hits her HARD. Because that's ****_not_**** fair."**

**…**

**Maractus looks sheepish. "Sorry, Swellow…"**

**…**

**Gothorita smiles. "Hit them when they're distracted. It's a great tactic. I don't throw very often, but when I do, I rarely miss."**

**…**

A dodgeball from Pachirisu had hit Onix, eliminating him. Riolu walked up to Shieldon in between some dodgeballs.

Shieldon was scooping up dodgeballs with the back of his head. He then ran forward a bit, making the balls move forward. He was always right next to the front line. The dodgeballs didn't go very far, and hadn't hit anyone yet, but he was making a good effort.

"Nice work, Shieldon!" said Riolu to his friend while throwing a dodgeball at Kirlia. It made contact, so she gracefully walked over to the sidelines.

Shieldon looked up in surprise, then said, "Oh, thanks, Riolu! You don't want to see me throw with my front legs-actually, I don't want to throw with them because it would be too embarrassing to see on, you know, TV."

"Right. Well, keep up the good work!" Riolu called back.

…

Kricketune looked back in surprise as he felt someone rubbing up against him. It was Maractus.

"Maractus, what are you doing here?" he asked.

She shuddered. "I don't like this game!"

He shrugged, and continued throwing. Finally, a dodgeball hit Misdreavus, who had only been launching dodgeballs using her Psybeam attack because she didn't have any hands. Unfortunately, he was immediately hit by a dodgeball from Haunter, who grinned at Misdreavus. She smiled back.

Kricketune quickly made his way over to the sidelines. Maractus looked terrified to be exposed, and eventually scrambled frantically for someone else to hide behind.

…

Mightyena had been throwing dodgeballs at Pachirisu the entire game. As one of the fastest players, and the player who had taken out Onix, she was a potential threat to the team. Finally, she made contact, and Pachirisu left the game.

"Yes!" she said, raising her front paws. Unfortunately, Marshtomp had just thrown a dodgeball at her, and it scraped her claws, leaving two large gashes in one side of it.

"Aw, great…" she muttered. She was about to continue throwing dodgeballs, since it hadn't technically hit her, but Duskull shouted her name through his megaphone.

"Hey, Mightyena! You're out! We don't want to have to pay for those dodgeballs! You broke one of them, so you're out!"

"What?! That's not in the game's rules! Ah, whatever," muttered the wolf Pokemon. Liepard cast her a sympathetic glance.

**…**

**Mightyena growls. "Duskull's such a cheapskate. I could be in the game right now! Oh, well, at least I eliminated Pachirisu. I don't think my team will eliminate me for that. And even if I'm not in Liepard's alliance-and I know she has one-we're still friends. And her alliance has a lot of power on our team, I've been told."**

**…**

**Marshtomp looks mildly impressed. "Hey, my dodgeball skills could be called 'sucky' at best. I didn't think I'd hit anybody this game."**

**…**

The dodgeballs continued to fly. Maractus was now hiding behind Munchlax. He wasn't a great player-of all the dodgeballs he had thrown, the only one who had come close to hitting anyone had been to Tropius, who had moved in the direction of the dodgeball when he wasn't paying attention. Unfortunately for Munchlax, it didn't hit. Unfortunately for Tropius, he was hit by Zorua's dodgeball a few seconds later anyway.

Monferno hit both Plusle and Whimsicott in quick succession, and both of them went to sit on the sidelines. Monferno fist-bumped Riolu, who looked pleased that his friend had done such a good job.

Shieldon also managed to nearly hit Zorua, who dodged at the last second. Shieldon held up his hand to Riolu for a high-five, which Riolu did half-heartedly, staring at Zorua. Shieldon's eyes widened.

**…**

**Shieldon's eyes are still wide in the confessional. "Riolu's in love with Zorua! That's what's been distracting him this whole time! I'll talk to him about it…we don't want the team looking at him as a traitor! He can't go out with her, not yet! She's a nice girl and all, but I don't want one of my best friends being looked at as a traitor." He paused. "I don't think I'll tell Pikachu yet…not until Riolu tells me it's okay."**

**…**

Zorua was dodging a barrage of dodgeballs from Haunter, Wigglytuff, Buizel, and Porygon, who had all formed a random team whose goal was to hit her.

She picked one up and threw it hard. It nailed Porygon right in the middle of his face. Dejectedly, he went to sit down with the rest of the Palkias who had been taken out.

Zorua figured that the three of them would take her down eventually. But she wasn't going to make it easy.

…

Sentret had just caught a ball from Buneary, eliminating her. She went to sit on the sidelines. Sentret smiled happily.

"H-hey, Sentret, w-what's that?" stuttered Torchic. "B-by Zorua…"

Sentret and Munchlax looked over by Zorua. She was dodging balls from three Palkias-Haunter, Wigglytuff, and Buizel. They looked like they were about to hit her, but she was a good dodger. She tried to catch one, but failed, but had so far never been hit.

Sentret grinned. "They're teaming up on her. Come on, guys, let's go even out the playing field."

…

Zorua was about to drop from exhaustion when she saw Sentret, Torchic, and Munchlax come over. The three friends were here to save her from the three Palkias! At least that's what it looked like!

"H-hi, Zorua," said Torchic shyly.

"We're here to help you!" said Munchlax energetically. He threw a ball, which didn't make it very far. He picked it up again and threw it, this time getting it about six feet away-but far enough so that it was over the Palkias' line.

Haunter picked the ball up. He aimed it at Zorua, but at the last second, Munchlax dove in the way and caught the ball…in his mouth.

Munchlax swallowed. "Hey, that was pretty good! Tasted a bit like…strawberries."

Sentret, Torchic, and Zorua eyed him suspiciously. Duskull's voice came through his megaphone.

"Er…Munchlax, you're out for the same reason that Mightyena was out…because the ball's not going to work. And we don't want it back," he added, as Munchlax raised his hand to suggest it. "You can keep it."

Haunter raised his arm, but Duskull continued. "Actually, Haunter, you're out too. Technically, Munchlax caught the ball, so we're disqualifying both of you."

Haunter sighed and nodded at Buizel and Wigglytuff. Buizel nodded back, and Wigglytuff smiled.

**…**

**Buizel smiles dangerously. "I'm not friends with Haunter. We just both had the same idea for taking down Zorua. If he wasn't so tied up with that ghost girl, Misdreavus, he'd make a great teammate. Too bad for them…they're really losing out."**

**…**

Machoke had been lobbing balls at a dangerously high speed for the whole game. He heard a shout of pain and looked over to see that he had hit Shieldon. The Rock-and-Steel-type walked over to the sidelines. Machoke grinned. This was his thing. He loved the pain he could make with these dodgeballs.

Suddenly, he himself was doubled over in pain. He had been hit by a ball traveling easily as fast as the ones he had thrown. And he had been hit…well, where a male Pokemon would not want to be hit. Ever.

He looked over at the Palkias to see who could have done that. They were all distracted by the game…except Froslass, who was whistling casually. A glimmer passed through her eyes as he walked over to the stand.

Duskull and Totodile came over to see him.

"Dude, do you want to go to see Roselia or something?" asked Totodile. "It's okay if you want to, we'd totally respect that. Right, Duskull?"

"Yes, definitely. Are you okay?" asked the Ghost-type.

"I'll be fine," Machoke squeaked.

Mawile, the only other member of his team to be out of the game, came up to him. "You're doing a good job of imitating Buneary's voice," she said, unable to contain a grin. "Where did you learn such great voice-changing skills?"

"Shut up," Machoke said in the same high voice. "I'm doing the best I can…now go away or I'll hurt you later."

"Fine, just remember you'll have Honchkrow to answer to," she teased.

Machoke would never hurt her-they were friends, and had been since the beginning of the show, even if she was extremely annoying at times. Machoke also thought it was wrong to punch a girl. Well, in most cases…actually, the more he thought about it, the less he really cared.

…

Maractus had decided to hide behind Sneasel, who was really a good player. He had just taken down Dragonair. She thought she had less of a chance of being hit behind him than she had behind the other players.

He was in a bit of a war between himself and Monferno. It was unclear who would win-both Pokemon were very good throwers, but were also really good at dodging. Maractus decided that she should hide behind somebody less involved in the game next time.

…

Honchkrow watched the battle between Zorua, Torchic, and Sentret versus Wigglytuff and Buizel from the back of the arena. Sentret got hit a while into it, which evened up the sides two-to-two. Zorua tripped out of exhaustion, allowing her to be hit by a dodgeball from Buizel. Finally, Torchic had thrown a dodgeball that looked like it would hit Wigglytuff, but just as it was about to make contact, she caught it. Torchic went to sit down in the stands, looking sad.

Honchkrow counted the remaining players. For the Dialgas, it was himself, Makuhita, Sneasel, Marshtomp, and Maractus-and Maractus was essentially useless. She hadn't thrown a single dodgeball, though she was _very_ good at avoiding them and hiding behind other players. The Palkias still had Buizel, Wigglytuff, Monferno, Froslass, Gothorita, Riolu, and Liepard. That meant they had an advantage of two players, and three if you don't count Maractus.

Honchkrow flew to the front lines. Time to get himself back into the game.

…

"Unh!" Marshtomp grunted, throwing a dodgeball with all her might. She smiled as she saw that it made contact with Gothorita. She was about to throw one at Wigglytuff when Honchkrow flew over. He threw the ball hard, and it hit Riolu. Riolu, surprised, went to sit down.

Marshtomp threw hers at Wigglytuff. Unfortunately, her aim had been off, so it didn't come near hitting her.

She turned to Honchkrow. "Where were you most of the game? I barely saw you."

He pointed to the back of the arena. "Biding my time for when I was needed. I'm a good player."

"You'd better be," muttered Marshtomp. She threw a ball at Liepard, hoping to get her out. Liepard turned quickly and caught it.

"Sorry, Marshtomp," said the cat Pokemon, sneering. "Nothing personal."

"Stupid cat," muttered Marshtomp.

…

Monferno turned to Wigglytuff excitedly. "Do you realize we have five players, they have four? And one of theirs is Maractus!"

"Oh, yay!" cried Wigglytuff. She threw a dodgeball that almost hit Makuhita, but he dodged and caught it. "Oh, looks like I'm out," said Wigglytuff. "Well, good luck, Monferno!"

"Thanks," he said. "I'll need it."

He threw a ball at Sneasel that hit. Sneasel glared at him and walked over to the sidelines. Makuhita threw a ball that hit Liepard. She scowled, then stalked over to where the rest of her team was.

…

"Come on, Honchkrow!" Makuhita bellowed. He threw a dodgeball that narrowly missed Froslass. Honchkrow threw one that actually hit Buizel. Buizel walked over to the sidelines.

Froslass picked up a ball on the ground and threw it. It hit Makuhita. With a slight smile, she watched him walk over to the sidelines. He continued cheering for his team with a few of his friends, like Zorua.

"It's down to the final four!" Duskull announced. "Any team could win this when it's an even two on two fight!"

"Although the Palkias might have a slight advantage," added Totodile, taking over the microphone. "But only a little," he added hastily after he got a bad look from Duskull.

"Thank you."

…

"Ow!" Froslass shouted. She had been focused on the announcement, but Honchkrow had thrown a ball at her when she wasn't looking.

"Hm…" she said, floating over to the rest of her team. If Monferno couldn't beat Honchkrow, it was over…Maractus was an easy target.

Monferno threw quite a few dodgeballs at Honchkrow, but he avoided all of them. He scooped some up and shot them back at Monferno. Monferno avoided most of them until there was one he couldn't avoid.

He stuck his hands out in a hope of catching it and closed his eyes.

He opened his eyes. He had caught it.

"Unbelievably, Honchkrow's out! It's Maractus versus Monferno!" said Duskull.

Maractus looked horrified, but most of the dodgeballs were on her side. Monferno also looked nervous-he only had a few dodgeballs.

"Maractus, get him!" shouted Mawile.

"You can do it!" called Sentret.

"Do it for the team!" Makuhita cried.

Maractus inched towards a dodgeball, then retreated a few steps.

Monferno carefully took his aim.

Maractus walked toward the dodgeball as if it was a dead body. Then she ran away again.

Monferno threw the dodgeball with full force.

It hit.

Maractus was out!

"All right, a second victory in a row for the Palkias! Dialgas, we will see you again at the campfire ceremony tonight! Pick who you vote for by then!"

**…**

**Sentret looks thoughtful. "There are a lot of people who we could vote for tonight. Mawile and Swellow were the first two out, Maractus obviously failed us, and…well, I'm not going to vote for him, but I've heard people who want to vote for Munchlax because he ate the ball. I hope he doesn't go home, but most people like him, so…"**

**…**

**Buneary looks distressed. "I shouldn't be saying this…but I know why Maractus acted the way she did in dodgeball today-she told me. When she was in elementary school, she got a head injury from a Pokemon who threw a dodgeball really hard in a dodgeball game. She was in the hospital for, like, a week or something. Since then, she's always been afraid of the game in case it happened again."**

**"I could almost see one of Machoke's throws doing that," she said, troubled. "Yikes, he scares me. I hope the Dialgas vote him off, but I think he's got the pity on his side today…I wouldn't want to go through what he went through today if I was a guy."**

**…**

"Welcome, Dialgas! The elimination ceremony will now commence!" said Duskull. "This episode, invincibility goes to no one! You can vote off whoever you desire!"

"Yeah, now do it. If you want to use the confessional, it's over there," said Totodile.

"Okay," said Duskull, giving Totodile a strange look. "This is your second time here in two episodes. One of you will be taking the boat to Pokemon Loser Island!"

"Let's hope this is the end of your losing streak," muttered Totodile. "Otherwise, you guys stand no chance at all. I mean, seriously, maybe you should actually try winning…"

"We've won twice already," Zorua growled.

"Yeah, out of six episodes," Totodile shot back.

"Totodile, stop aggravating the contestants and let them do what they need to do!" Duskull shouted.

"Nobody likes you!" Totodile replied.

"Meh, I like me," said Duskull. "And my opinion counts most, because I'm the host."

Totodile turned away in anger. A few contestants stifled laughs.

"Vote, people. Vote," said Duskull.

**…**

**Mawile looks a bit nervous. "It's possible that I'll be the one going home…if I was the first one out on our team, that might turn them against me. But I think Honchkrow will find a way to keep me in the game."**

**…**

**Swellow looks confident. "I was the second one out, but they'll all vote for Mawile instead. If they don't vote for a certain cactus-girl."**

**…**

**Munchlax looks nervous. "I wasn't ****_trying_**** to eat that ball! I was hungry!"**

**…**

**Maractus looks scared. "I have, like, a fear of dodgeball! My doctor calls it dodgeballophobia! They totally can't vote me off for this! Can they? Oh my Arceus!"**

**She straightens up in the chair. "At least I came in first place during the game. That'll help me! Totally!"**

**…**

**Makuhita looks fairly pleased. "Well, since I was third place in this dodgeball tournament, my vote's going to be pretty influential. People have been treating me way better than before. It's probably going to be gone by tomorrow, but if I can use this to direct votes away from Swellow and towards either Mawile, Munchlax, or Maractus, I'll be safe. I think it's going to be one of them going home tonight."**

**…**

**Plusle thinks for a second before speaking. "Minun wouldn't want me to vote for Maractus, so I won't. She might not have done the best in today's dodgeball tournament, but she's a nice girl and a good Pokemon."**

**…**

**Sneasel smiles. "Heh, Munchlax doesn't deserve to go home…I give him humor points."**

**His face turns serious. "And Mawile won't be going home either. I'll make sure of it, personally. I want her here longer. She's a good alliance member, and, well, a good friend too…better than Honchkrow or Machoke ever was. Glameow, if we all come back next season, let's try to get Mawile on our team, okay?"**

**…**

**Torchic is shaking. "P-please don't let Munchlax go home…he's a good Pokemon, I don't know why you'd v-vote against him…"**

**…**

Duskull and Totodile passed out sheets of paper for the names to be written on. The Pokemon all started scribbling.

**….**

**Sentret sighs. "I got our team to vote for Mawile…not that I hate her, but voting for her is the best chance of keeping Munchlax in that we've got."**

**…**

**Marshtomp frowns. "The big eater's got to go. I know who my vote's for."**

**…**

**Machoke grins evilly. "Maractus is who we're voting for. The girl's an idiot."**

**…**

**Whimsicott shrugs. "Swellow, I guess? I don't know, we couldn't decide, so we're putting her name down. Er, I mean Kricketune, Kirlia, and I."**

**…**

"The votes are in!" announces Duskull. "I'm going to let Totodile do the honors and read off your names as you get ribbons."

"All right. First ones to get ribbons are Honchkrow, Makuhita, Sneasel, and Marshtomp."

The four Pokemon went up to claim their ribbons. Makuhita attempted to fist-bump Marshtomp, but she half-heartedly did it back. As usual, she wasn't really into it.

"Torchic, Zorua, and Sentret," read Totodile. The three Pokemon who had worked together during the game grinned at each other and went to sit down.

"Machoke, poor guy. Come on up. Are you feeling better?" asked Totodile sympathetically.

Machoke gave him a death glare and went to sit over with the other Dialgas.

"Arceus, I'm sorry for trying to be nice," muttered Totodile. "Whimsicott, Plusle, and Pachirisu," he announced. Pachirisu got her ribbon first, and the other two followed.

Now, only Maractus, Munchlax, Kricketune, Kirlia, Swellow, and Mawile would be remaining. It was clear who the next two ribbons would go to.

"Okay, I'm gonna cut the suspense," said Totodile. "Kricketune and Kirlia, get up here. You're the last two Pokemon on the team to receive no votes. Meaning, you're safe!"

The two smiled and ran over to Whimsicott, who smiled at them welcomingly.

**…**

**"Are Kricketune and Kirlia a couple or something?" asked Plusle, confused. "They almost held hands when they were running over."**

**…**

Maractus, Munchlax, Swellow, and Mawile all glanced around nervously. There was no telling which one of them might be going home tonight.

"Well, I hope you four are ready for this," said Duskull. "Who wants to know the next Pokemon remaining?"

They all tentatively raised their hands. Duskull swung his arms over in the direction of Totodile, who called out, "Munchlax! You only had two votes. Obviously not too many people hate you because of your appetite."

Munchlax went over to sit by Sentret and Torchic. Both smiled at him and gave him a high-five. He pulled some fruit snacks out of his fur and offered them to Sentret and Torchic, who both turned them down politely.

"All right, good news for one of you! Apparently, being second-last just isn't as bad as being last, because Swellow, you're still in!" cried Totodile. "Oh, you only had four votes," he added quickly.

Maractus and Mawile both looked extremely nervous. Neither of them could be sure who more people had voted for.

"All right, you two," said Totodile. "This was pretty close. One of you had five votes and one of you had six. And the one who had five votes is…"

Both held their breath as he said the final name.

"Mawile. Sorry, Maractus, but first place just doesn't cut it sometimes if you don't deserve it."

Maractus nodded and didn't say anything. A few tears escaped out of the side of her eyes, but she remained fairly silent.

"You can go to the confessional if you'd like," Duskull suggested helpfully.

Maractus agreed with a quick shake of her head.

**…**

**Maractus sits in the confessional. There are tears in the sides of her eyes, but they're not running down her face anymore.**

**"Hi," she starts. "Uh, what to say…I don't know. There's so much I've, like, experienced when I was here. It was a totally amazing few weeks I've had here, and I don't regret it one bit, even if Duskull and Totodile can get a bit ridiculous at times, and some other campers are mean. But most are, like, really nice once you get to know them."**

**"Who do I want to win? Well, like, if I'm allowed, me and Buneary have been BFFs since, like, the beginning of the show. So I'm rooting for her to win, because she totally deserves it. I also think Plusle and, like, Pachirisu are cool, and Munchlax is totally a good Pokemon too. It's super important that somebody nice wins, but I think I'm okay with most Pokemon here."**

**"I'm not looking forward to whatever kinds of torture we're going to have to go through at, like, Pokemon Loser Island or anything, so, like, I hope it's not as bad as it sounds. But I'll totally watch every episode from now on, and that's a promise."**

**She looks at the clock near the top of the confessional. "Oh my Arceus, I'm so late. Well, thanks for everything, PCI! I'll totally be back if you guys ever do a season 2!" And with that, she rushes out of the confessional, in a hurry to catch the boat.**

**…**

"Bye, Maractus!" Buneary called as she watched her friend sailing away. Buneary wondered silently about whether Maractus would have been eliminated so early if they had been on the same team. No use worrying about that now though.

"This really stinks for Maractus," Plusle said to Pachirisu. "She almost got out last episode, and now she did get out this episode. She might have been a bit, um, strange at times, but she was a good Pokemon. Minun liked her, at least." Pachirisu nodded.

A few other Pokemon had gone up to Maractus to say good-bye to her. Many of the Pokemon had been on fairly good terms with her, and most didn't hate her, so she received quite a few goodbyes. She had been smiling when she left, not crying.

…

Duskull, Totodile, Roselia, and Lickitung all sat in the staff's lounge around a table, talking.

"So, what do you guys think of what's happened so far?" asked Duskull.

"I didn't think Maractus deserved to get out this early," said Lickitung. "She was annoying, but she was nice. Unlike some Pokemon…" she said, coughing and making a sound that sounded a bit like the name 'Liepard.'

"Uh, what do you have planned for next challenge?" asked Roselia. "If you let me know, I can stock up on medicines that might be helpful for the types of injuries they might get."

"Something for stomachaches, maybe?" said Totodile wryly.

"Yes, I suppose that would help a bit…also to help stop vomiting…" said Duskull.

"Oh, those poor contestants," said Roselia quietly, so no one could hear her but Lickitung. Lickitung chuckled.

"What?" asked Duskull.

"Nothing!" they chimed in unison.

He looked at them suspiciously but didn't ask any more.

"You know what would be something we could do?" asked Lickitung. "Interviews with eliminated contestants about what's going on right now. Maybe at the beginning or end of next episode. After all, I'm sure they watch it over there too. We could find a room to use as the confessional, and then we're good. Anyone for it?"

Roselia quickly raised her hand, and Duskull and Totodile raised their hands a few seconds later.

"Right. We'll get to work on that then," said Duskull. "Unless you have anything important to talk about, our staff meeting is dismissed."

The staff Pokemon all left and went their separate ways.

…

Let's see, what to say...

Well, Maractus was out. Personally, I thought she was annoying, but a good Pokemon at heart. I'd actually rather have eliminated Buneary, but things just don't always work...it had to be Maractus for two-ish important reasons.

Pokemon Mystery Dungeon? Yep, Plusle's got it! Best video games ever! And they're coming out with a new one for generation 5, I think it's for 3DS. It looks pretty cool, but they're going to have a really hard time making it as good as the ones they already have.

Okay, Kricketune and Kirlia are not in a relationship yet, but they will be soon. Just to clarify that.

I think this was my best episode just because...I don't know. Well, comment if you agree or not, and what my best episode was up to this point. Just out of curiosity.

Please vote in my poll! I want to get an accurate representation of who should win the game. I have 8 votes, but that's only a fraction of the people who have read this story. So vote, people, vote!

Next episode: The campers will be digging in to some delightful (or disgusting) dishes in this next episode of Pokemon Challenge Island! It's an eating competition, and no one can be sure who will win! Will the Dialgas continue their 2-episode losing streak, or was that just a flaw in their luck? Find out next time on Pokemon Challenge Island!

So much I want to say...and I'm forgetting most of it XD Anyway, my next chapter should be out within the next week or two, if it isn't already...depends on when you're reading this I guess :P

I hope you liked it! And please review and vote! It can't be a good story until there's cooperation between writer and reader! So please, please, please be awesome people and review.

All right, that's it for now! See ya!


	8. Episode 8: A Dining Disaster!

Hello, ladies and gentlemen! My next episode's here, straight from the brain of...me.

Q&A session will be a little rough this time, I don't see that I have any questions to answer. On second thought, we're not going to do a Q&A session this time. If you have any questions, don't hesitate to put them in a review. My job is to answer them, and I don't bite. Unless you're made of food. But I won't know that if you don't tell me, so...yeah.

But since we didn't have a Q&A session, let's have a Most Awkward Sentence of the Week that Actually Fit in Context When It Was Used session. And the sentence is..."My leg fell in a crevice and became a sea mammal!" And yes, this did make sense at the time. Why did I put this in my story? To waste time, I guess :P If you've got a problem with it, go pet a hamster. They're soft and fuzzy and make you feel good about yourself.

Sorry about that. I'm really random and weird today...'kay, back to the matter at hand.

Er, elimination this episode that has been coming for a long time. You might not be surprised, really. I guess.

Anyway, thanks to all the people who have reviewed, I always love hearing what you say.

Episode 8:

"Okay, we're back again with the newest episode of Pokemon Challenge Island!" said Duskull cheerfully.

"Oh, please," muttered his partner, Totodile.

"Totodile, lighten up, will you?" asked Duskull in a pained voice. "You have no charisma, no people skills. That's why the contestants don't like you."

"Actually, I thought it was more that we made them go through ridiculous challenges for a small chance at winning a lot of money," Totodile pointed out.

Duskull pondered that. "Maybe that's part of it. But I still have a point. You're a social blah. Act awesome from now on, okay?"

"Nope," said Totodile.

Duskull glared at him. "We'll continue this conversation after the camera turns off." Then his face lightened up and he continued talking about the episode.

"In this episode, we're going to be doing an EATING CONTEST!" he said loudly. "That's right! Whoever can eat the most of whatever dishes we put in front of them wins!"

"Yum yum," said Totodile.

"That's right! So, as soon as we, uh, feel like it, we'll start the challenge," Duskull finished. "After the previous contestants' interviews, that is. See you all there!"

**…**

**Mothim smiles dreamily. "Hey, dudes. I'm so happy Wigglytuff is still in. She's cool, and I'd like it if she wins. I think if anybody deserves it, she does. Or another member of Team Autumn. It's so good that they took her in like that, especially Meganium."**

**"But fate will do what it will do. So I'm cool if anybody wins. Bye, everyone!"**

**…**

**Numel yawns. "It doesn't matter who wins to me. I haven't watched the past few episodes because I've been sleeping. I don't even know who's eliminated until they come here. Since I have no reason to want any Pokemon to win more than others, I'll say that I hope a Fire-type or Ground-type wins. That's, uh, Torchic, Monferno, Onix, and…yawn…I don't even care who else."**

**…**

**Glameow sniffs. "As long as that TOTAL JERK Honchkrow or ANYONE on his team doesn't win, I'm okay. I know he voted me off. Sneasel and Liepard, I'm leaving this to you. Go for it!"**

**"If I could give you one piece of advice…which I know I can't, but if one of you manages to steal this tape…Sneasel, I'd tell you not to trust Honchkrow, Machoke, or Mawile. And as much as you may be attracted to Mawile, she'll betray you. And Liepard, Froslass knows what you're up to."**

**She sighs. "Even though I can't really tell you any of that, I wish I could."**

**…**

**Qwilfish smiles confidently. "I think Liepard, Onix, and Buizel have got what it takes to win this thing. Go Team Strike! Woo!"**

**…**

**Minun looks happy. "It's nice to see that Plusle and Pachirisu did well last episode, I hope that continues to this episode as well. I'd like one of them to win, believe me, but if somebody else that's nice wins, I'll support them. If you're the winner, you're the winner, and whether I may like it or not, I won't be able to change that."**

**"Anyway, Plusle and Pachirisu-keep being awesome!"**

**…**

**Maractus waves at the camera. "Hm…I totally want Buneary to win this thing! We may be on opposite teams, but we're, like, sisters or something! If she can't win, Buizel's okay too, I guess. He's her boyfriend, and he's really hot…totally!"**

**"If neither of them wins…Plusle and Pachirisu are good Pokemon, and so are Sentret and his friends. It wouldn't really bother me, whoever won. I understand my reason for getting eliminated, so I'm not, like, holding any grudges or anything! See ya here next episode, somebody!"**

**…**

Liepard dashed away from her hiding spot in the bushes, where she had been watching the beginning of the episode. She found Buizel and Onix waiting for her in their usual spot.

"It's an eating challenge," she said. "You know what this means, right?"

"We're going to be full afterwards?" suggested Buizel.

She fixed him with a glare. "No. It means that we're not going to win this challenge. The other team has Munchlax. He can easily eat anything they'll put in front of him."

Buizel looked at her questioningly. "You really think he can put down more than Onix?"

Onix turned to look at Liepard. She frowned. "Sorry, but yes, I do. I went to school with a Munchlax a few years back…trust me, he'll eat more than Onix. We can't possibly win this challenge."

"What should we do?" asked Onix.

"I have just the thing," she said. She reached into the bag she had been carrying and pulled out a small bottle. "This stuff guarantees that he'll throw up on the first round if you put it into his food. So, one of us will have to accidentally slip him a couple drops," she says, smiling.

"We can't have Onix do it," said Buizel. "Sorry, Onix, you're too big. And you also have no hands."

"I guess," mumbled Onix, shaking his head. "One of you could do it. Both take part of the bottle, and whoever gets closer puts it in."

"Agreed," said Liepard, with a sly smile. Then it vanished. "We'll also have to decide who to vote off."

"I can get Buneary to vote with us if you'll get Mightyena," said Buizel.

"All right," said Liepard, smiling slightly. Buizel was definitely a useful addition to the team, and Onix was smarter than he appeared to be. She was glad to have them on her team-they were better than Qwilfish, anyway. "Is there anyone else we can get to vote with us?"

"Dragonair, maybe?" asked Onix.

Liepard frowned. "I don't know much about her…she's so quiet. It might be safer if we find someone else."

"We could always scare someone to vote with us…Pikachu? Porygon? Wigglytuff?" asked Onix.

"Pikachu's part of an alliance with Riolu and Shieldon, and maybe Monferno," said Buizel.

"It depends on who we decide to vote for," said Liepard. "Maybe, if we choose the right person, we can get them to vote with us. Maybe Froslass and some of her friends, too," she added as an afterthought.

The dark cat turned back to Buizel. "So you can get Buneary if I can get Liepard?" she questioned.

"Of course I can get Buneary," said Buizel defiantly. "She's head-over-heels for me. All I have to do is keep this so-called 'relationship' going and we'll have her to vote with us for as long as we need her."

Onix and Liepard stared. "You're not actually into Buneary?" Onix asked.

"No, and I've never been. She's just a piece I'm using to help us get higher in the game," said Buizel. He was careful to use the word _us _over the word _me_.

"Interesting," said Liepard under her breath. Buizel didn't hear.

…

Froslass floated away from her spot in the bushes where she had been watching Liepard's Team, Team Strike, to where Gothorita and Porygon were waiting a safe distance away.

"Froslass, you're back!" said Porygon. "Did you hear their conversation?"

"Better," she admitted. "I recorded it."

She played through the tape. Porygon made a face when Onix mentioned his name, but remained silent.

Finally, the tape came to a close. Froslass ejected it and questioned her two teammates.

"What did you think?"

Gothorita thought about it for a minute. "They haven't determined who they're going to vote out. But, if you're thinking what I'm thinking, I have a way to guarantee the person we can vote out will be one of two people. Or, at the very least, direct it away from us."

"Tell Buneary about Buizel," said Froslass.

"Exactly. Then, it'll either be Buneary or Buizel going home-both of them might try to get Pokemon to side with them for the voting ceremony," the Psychic-type finished. Froslass gave a small smile, approving.

"We'll tell Buneary that Buizel is using her," Froslass decided. "But we'll also tell Buizel a lie about Buneary. That will split the voters in two, and hopefully we can get rid of one of them."

"Start a rumor that Buneary is cheating on Buizel?" suggested Porygon.

"Possibly…but it would be hard to do, because you can't cheat without another person, and there really is no other person involved. I say we use that only as a backup option. Spreading a rumor that would affect Buneary might be harder."

"We could tell everybody that Buneary's thinking of dumping Buizel because she's tired of him and wants to go for more attractive guys," said Gothorita. "Maybe Monferno or something. Monferno doesn't have to like it or agree to it, because he won't get asked if it's not really what she wants. So we'll either get Buneary out or Buizel out."

"Agreed," said Froslass. "We are done for today," she said quietly, before drifting away.

**…**

**Gothorita smiles. "This is going to be a piece of cake."**

**…**

**Buizel grins. "Buneary, you're going to vote with us whether you like it or not. So get ready for the charm level to get turned up to ten!"**

**…**

**Buneary smiles. "Buizel is so handsome and nice! I wish I had found someone like him earlier. Wait, actually, I don't! He's perfect!"**

**…**

**Munchlax's stomach growls. "I'm hungry. I wonder what the challenge is going to be today."**

**…**

**Onix frowns. "There's something about Buizel I don't like...he just admitted that he's a guy who uses his girlfriend. I may not have a girlfriend, but it still seems wrong to me…But Liepard's okay with it, so I guess I'll go along with it."**

**…**

Shieldon waited for Riolu and Pikachu to come to the meeting they had planned. Sure enough, they came on time. Shieldon smiled and let them sit down.

"Hey, Shieldon!" Pikachu greeted him. Riolu smiled and sat down at his usual spot.

"Right," said Riolu. "Do we have anything important to talk about today? I don't…"

"Not really," said Shieldon, though he wanted to talk to Riolu about his hoped-for relationship with Zorua. That would have to occur after the meeting, in case Riolu didn't want Pikachu hearing too.

"Cool!" said Pikachu. "So now we can actually get to the fun stuff. Like…oh, what did you think about Lickitung's food last night?"

Riolu wrinkled his nose. "I'm not sure, exactly, what it was…it tasted pretty good, but it looked horrible."

"Didn't smell great, either," Shieldon added.

"I know! Munchlax ate a ton of it, though," said Pikachu. Then he smiled and said, "But what _doesn't_ Munchlax eat a ton of?"

Their conversations continued like this, ranging from topics of Lickitung's food to the next challenge to why Monferno and Onix hated each other. After about an hour and a half of their usual fun at these meetings, they finished.

"All right, guys, you can go," said Riolu. Pikachu darted off back towards camp, but Shieldon walked by Riolu into the woods. He stepped in front of him before he could get too far.

"Riolu…I know about, um, your crush," he began weakly. Riolu stared at him. "On Zorua."

Riolu's eyes remained fairly emotionless, but he thought he saw a quick flash of panic flash through them. But it was gone.

"What makes you think I like Zorua?"

"Well, I've just noticed how you look at her and talk about her," said Shieldon. "I promise, I won't tell anyone if you don't want me to."

Riolu sat down. "I'm still not convinced on your answer."

Shieldon sighs. "Riolu, I gave you a promise. I'm your friend, and you can tell me the truth."

Riolu lowered his eyes from Shieldon's gaze. "Then, yes. I do like Zorua."

"You do realize that she's on the opposite team, and if you're seen with her too often, people might think you're cheating on your team or something. Do you understand?"

"Yes, I do," said Riolu. He brought his eyes back up. "What about Maractus and Buneary? They were best friends before Maractus got eliminated, but nobody ever accused them of cheating."

"Actually, I've heard Pokemon call Buneary a cheater and traitor to the team," said Shieldon. "But not too often, and Maractus is gone now. You and I, we're not as popular as Buneary. If word gets out that you like Zorua, well…it could be tragic. And I don't want that to happen to you."

Shieldon looked straight at Riolu, but couldn't read the expression in his eyes.

"What if she gets eliminated before the merge?"

Shieldon considered this. "Unless you win, you'll still get to spend some time with her on Pokemon Loser Island. And we get to stay there for a while afterward, apparently, though why you'd want to stay at a place with a name like that is beyond me. It's probably a huge trash heap."

Shieldon continued. "Not that I don't think you can win…you stand a much better chance of winning than me. Zorua does too, probably. But there are so many tough Pokemon here…maybe you two can get each other to the final two."

Riolu nodded slowly. "We'll see," was all he said. He started walking away. Then, after a few seconds, he stopped and turned around.

"Shieldon-thanks for all your advice on this. It's good that you brought it to my attention, and honestly, you've been a great friend. But you've got to let me work this out on my own, okay? As much as you want to help me, it's my problem, not yours." Riolu's eyes lingered on Shieldon as he waited for an answer.

Shieldon nodded. "Okay. I'll try."

They both followed the trail back to camp together.

**…**

**Shieldon gave a small smile. "I think I did the right thing. I tried to help him, and maybe I did. But either way, at least he knows that I'm there for him…"**

**…**

**Riolu keeps his face neutral. "I don't know whether I'll follow Shieldon's advice or not. Some things are risks worth taking…"**

**…**

Haunter and Misdreavus floated through the forest. They hadn't really done any kissing or romantic talking, they just wanted to enjoy the scenery together.

"Haunter…it's so nice that you're here with me. I wish we could stay here forever," said Misdreavus, looking around longingly.

"So do I," said Haunter.

…

"Mmm! That was a delicious third lunch!" exclaimed Munchlax, who had finished stuffing several hamburgers down his throat. Sentret and Torchic smiled.

"How many meals do you usually eat?" asked Torchic curiously.

"Not enough," Munchlax responded. He opened his backpack and popped a piece of candy in his mouth.

"Wonder what today's challenge will be…" said Sentret.

"Maybe a climbing challenge?" asked Torchic.

"Probably something weird that no one ever does on game shows," said Munchlax.

"There's always that," Sentret admitted, smiling.

Torchic looked at the group. "I'm gonna go…I need to rest before the challenge, and I'm kind of tired."

"All right, you can go. Munchlax, are you staying?" asked Sentret.

"Nah, I'm going to ask my favorite staff member-Lickitung-if she has more food!" he exclaimed. "See ya, guys!"

Torchic and Munchlax went off back to camp. Sentret decided to stay in the open field and read his new book, which he had got from the island's library, a fairly well-hidden building that few Pokemon new about. It was run by one of the interns, Chandelure, who had appeared in the horror challenge. She helped Sentret check out the book for something to do in his spare time.

He was glad he always had something to do here at the island. Challenge or no challenge, it was never dull.

…

Froslass had decided it. Gothorita was going to talk to Buneary about Buizel, and Porygon was going to spread the rumor about Buneary to Buizel.

Gothorita went to talk to Buneary first. Since she had been standing near the edge of the woods, Froslass and Porygon hid in bushes far enough not to be noticed, but close enough to hear.

"Uh, Buneary…can we talk?" asked Gothorita hesitantly. Froslass smiled-this girl knew what she was doing.

"Sure, Gothorita," said Buneary happily. "What is it?"

"Well, I heard something a minute ago…I was walking through the forest. Buizel was talking to Liepard and Onix about you."

"Oh, cool! That just shows how much he truly likes me," she said, smiling.

Gothorita frowned. "It wasn't like that. He said…he said that he was going to find a way to get you to vote with his team. Because…oh, this is so hard to say…"

"What?" asked Buneary. Her face remained smiling, but there was a bit of worry in her eyes.

"He said he was using you, and that he never actually liked you! The only reason he ever went out with you is because he wanted to be able to get someone to vote with his team all the time!" she blurted out. Then she covered her mouth.

"I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to burst it out like that…I couldn't have kept this secret from you without feeling guilty, and from one girl to another, you really don't deserve this," said Gothorita, a sorry look in her eyes.

Buneary's face fell. "Oh," she said. "I'll go talk to Buizel about this as soon as I can find him…" she said. Then she walked away, but turned back. "Thanks, Gothorita. I know you're trying to help, but…is it possible you heard wrong? Maybe?"

"Possible, I suppose, but highly unlikely. I was pretty near them, and I have great hearing," said Gothorita, tilting her head. "Oh, Buneary? Don't tell anybody you heard it from me."

"Of course not!" said Buneary, smiling slightly. "Well, thanks anyway."

…

Froslass, Gothorita, and Porygon had found Buizel on the beach. Porygon had agreed to talk to him, as the only male Pokemon in the group.

He moved towards Buizel. "Hey, Buizel…can we talk? It's kind of important," said Porygon.

Buizel raised an eyebrow but didn't question him. "Sure."

"Okay…see, I've noticed something about your girlfriend, Buneary, lately. You might not have noticed, but she's, er, been staring at some of the other guys here," said Porygon, nervously.

"Go on."

"And in particular, one of them was Monferno. I wouldn't be telling you this if she had just been staring, but I heard her yesterday. And…she asked him out."

"What?!" exclaimed Buizel.

"He turned her down, probably because he didn't want to end up cheating. But he looked tempted, and she's pretty cute…I don't know how long he'll be able to resist," said Porygon. "You should talk to her about it."

"I will," Buizel promised. He wasn't only upset that he might be losing a potential vote to Monferno, he was also upset that supposedly Buneary was tired of him! Girls had never had enough of him before this. Well, obviously things had changed.

He got up and walked away. Porygon turned and looked towards the woods and winked. Though he couldn't see anything there, he knew who was hiding in those bushes.

...

Buneary and Buizel met with each other near the gym building. Both confronted each other with the same angry glare in their eyes.

"I heard that you're trying to use me," said Buneary, "Tell me if this is true-just an honest answer will work."

"As soon as you tell me whether you asked Monferno out," responded Buizel.

"Where'd you hear that?!" exclaimed Buneary. "That's a lie! Who told you that?"

"Someone. I want to know where you heard that I was using you," said Buizel.

"I heard it from someone, also. And is it true?" Buneary challenged.

"No! So when did you hear someone spread that lie about me?" said Buizel.

Buneary caught a look in his eye. "You're lying. You ARE using me."

Buizel scoffed. "You're just saying that to cover up for the fact that you are trying to cheat on me."

Buneary laughed. "Ha! I can tell you're lying. Well, this is it, because we're through."

Buizel folded his arms. "Fine. Then that's the way it will be. But don't expect me to just be fine and dandy with this tomorrow. It won't be, I promise you."

"I wouldn't have it any other way," said Buneary. They both turned around at the same time, before walking away from each other.

Neither one looked back.

…

Everyone on both teams had heard about the fight between Buneary and Buizel, from one of the two themselves or somebody who knew about it. Most Pokemon had already started taking sides.

Almost everybody on the Palkias had taken sides. Team Autumn had sympathized with Buizel, noticing that Buneary did, from time to time, sneak looks at Monferno. Team Shield and Monferno had all heard from Buneary, and decided that her point of view made more sense. Monferno and Buneary both told them that Buizel's rumor was a lie. Team Strike and Mightyena were all friends with Buizel, so they obviously sided with him. Dragonair kept her opinion a secret, but most Pokemon suspected that she was siding with Buneary because they occasionally talked and were more familiar with each other than Dragonair and Buizel, who had rarely if ever spoke to each other on the show.

Only Team Frost remained unknown. They weren't openly supportive of either side, though Buneary and Buizel were okay with this because each of them secretly suspected that they were siding with them.

It was the topic of discussion for both teams. The Dialgas were surprised as much as the Palkias, though it affected them less because neither Pokemon was on their team. Most Pokemon were still talking about it when Duskull and Totodile called over the loudspeaker:

"Time for the challenge! Gather in the center of camp as usual!"

…

Before any contestants arrived, Duskull and Totodile spoke quietly about the challenge.

"So, it's an eating challenge…the Dialgas pretty much have a huge advantage here, right? With Munchlax on their team? The only Palkias who come close are Tropius and Onix, and even then, Munchlax eats more. And they're so distracted with the Buneary-Buizel divorce stuff…" said Totodile.

Duskull stared. "Divorce? They were never married. It was a breakup, idiot."

"I got my words mixed up," said Totodile defensively.

"Okay, if you say so," said Duskull. A few Pokemon entered the center of camp, so they stopped talking and waited for everyone to arrive. It took about five minutes, but then they both started talking about the challenge.

"All right, everybody! I hope you're hungry, because today's an eating challenge!" announced Duskull proudly. "So we're going to fill up your plates, and whoever makes it through the most rounds of food we put in front of you gets a win for their whole team! Which means…to the cafeteria!"

Duskull and Totodile lead them to the cafeteria and set the table, while explaining a few more rules. "The team with the player who makes it the farthest wins, but the top three Pokemon on the other team get invincibility. We have up to ten rounds planned, but we don't think you'll need to go there.

Finally, everyone sits down, and Lickitung announces the first dish.

"All right, everybody! Your first dish is…a strawberry milkshake! Finish it to move on to Round 2!" the long-tongued chef exclaimed.

**…**

**Lickitung smiles. "I figured I'd make the first dish nice and relaxing. I'm sure everybody can at least finish this."**

**…**

**Sneasel slaps his head. "Really? A strawberry milkshake? I'm allergic to strawberries…they're, like, the one food item that I can't eat. This absolutely ****_sucks._****"**

**…**

Lickitung looked over to Sneasel, who hadn't touched his milkshake but was raising his hand. "Uh, Sneasel? Is something wrong?"

Sneasel grimaced. "I'm allergic to strawberry…can't I have something else?"

Lickitung turned around and looked at Duskull and Totodile, who both shook their heads. "The hosts say no. If you can't eat it, you have to drop out."

"All right, then I'm out," said Sneasel. "Good luck, guys."

Munchlax was one of the first to finish, and after that, everybody followed him through the first dish. Nobody looked completely done, and Sneasel sat glumly at another table as he watched everyone advance to the second round.

"Who's ready for the second dish?" Lickitung asked cheerfully. "Well, here it is! Your next food item is…a plateful of mashed potatoes!" she said, as she walked around the table, putting some on everyone's plate.

Shieldon stood up. "I surrender. I don't do mashed potatoes."

Pikachu stared at him. "What do you mean, you don't do mashed potatoes?"

"I don't eat them. They're horrible!" Shieldon said.

"I think they're pretty good, actually," said Pikachu.

"Shieldon, can't you at least try?" asked Riolu.

"No. I'm sitting this one out." And with that, he went over and sat at Sneasel's table.

"Anybody else out before we start?" asked Lickitung. "No? All right then, begin!"

Munchlax, Onix, Tropius, and a few others finished early. It took some smaller Pokemon like Plusle, Torchic, Kirlia, and Buneary a much longer time to finish theirs.

Torchic stood up after he was done. "I-I don't think I-I'll be able to do next round. I'll g-go sit down," he said. He moved away as fast as he could to get everyone's eyes off of him.

"Me too," said Kirlia. "I really don't eat much…"

"Hey, Dialgas…you guys are really trailing, you know that, right?" asked Totodile. "You've got three quitters, while Shieldon's the only Palkia. Get in the game, guys!"

Some of them made a face back at him.

Lickitung wheeled her cart over and started placing bowls in front of everyone. "All right, guys, it's time for some old-fashioned vegetable soup! These bowls are larger than the ones I usually give you, so it might take you a while to finish."

After Lickitung gave the starting signal, Plusle quit about a quarter through his bowl, joining the Dialgas who had already quit. Buneary and Pikachu also quit from the Palkias' side of the table at about the same time, three-fourths of the way through or so. Most Pokemon had already finished by then.

Lickitung wheeled out some pies on her platter. "Have some apple pie, everyone! They're cut down the middle, so you each have to finish half of them. If I give you a pie, put half of it on to the plate of the Pokemon next to you."

Misdreavus floated away. "Apple doesn't sit well with me…"

"I love apple pie!" exclaimed Makuhita. He finished the pie only a few seconds after Munchlax.

Onix, Tropius, Meganium, Marshtomp, and Mightyena all finished a few seconds after. Wigglytuff, Machoke, and Dragonair followed closely, and Monferno, Liepard, and Honchkrow came after.

Sentret, Pachirisu, and Whimsicott from the Dialgas, and Porygon, Froslass, and Riolu from the Palkias, all gave in at some point while they were eating the pie.

Duskull made an announcement. "Congratulations on making it this far! I won't lie, I probably would have been done on this round. And with seven of you out on this round, it's clear that we're at the point where most of you aren't going to last much longer. There are 9 Dialgas left, and 11 Palkias. And I'm sure we'll see this number going down quickly after this."

Lickitung smiled."I agree with that, because your next dish is…a full pan of stuffing! It might be a bit less filling than the apple pie, but I'm giving you more of it."

Meganium stared at her. "Are you trying to get rid of Thanksgiving leftovers?"

Lickitung's smile wavered. "Uh, yeah. I made _way_ too much, you know, mashed potatoes and apple pie and stuffing…and a lot of other things that aren't getting used this challenge."

"I love leftovers!" Munchlax exclaimed.

Liepard got up and left the table. "Stuffing's gross. I'm not doing it."

Swellow also left. "Same for me."

Before Liepard left, though, she decided to sneak some of the poison into Zorua's food. Munchlax was too far away, but she managed to squirt in a few drops.

"Go!" announced Lickitung.

Zorua took a few bites, and then put her head on the table. "I can't do it," she said sadly. "I'm out. I feel…really full. And kind of sick."

Kricketune and Gothorita both quit about halfway through, though Kricketune reached his halfway point a bit faster than Gothorita had. Buizel slammed his fork down on the table just as he had almost reached the end. "I can't finish…I'm going to throw up in an hour probably anyway…"

"Nice to know!" called Totodile. "I'll inform the media. Oh, wait, we're already on television."

Buizel shot him a murderous look and went to the table.

Finally, everyone finished (they had all been waiting on Haunter and Mawile). Lickitung announced the next part of the challenge.

"A full pan of brownies. For each of you," she suggested.

Haunter, Monferno, and Mawile all got up at the same time.

"I'm not even trying that one," said Monferno. "And I love brownies."

"I should have quit when Misdreavus quit…" Haunter said.

"Even my back mouth is getting tired…" said Mawile. "Good luck, guys," she finished, then collapsed on the ground where she was. Sneasel and Shieldon, who were both not very full, went to pick her up. Sneasel smiled as he realized he was holding Mawile's hand.

_I'd like it more if she was awake,_ a small voice in the back of his head said. He shook his head and kept walking. Duskull came back in with Roselia, who just diagnosed it as overeating and gave her some medicine. The small Grass-and-Poison-type also decided to stay and watch the rest of the competition to make sure no one else got sick.

"I told them this was a bad idea for a challenge…" she muttered.

"Okay, then, the brownies," said Lickitung. "Anyone else out?"

Mightyena cast a nervous glance at Mawile and said, "Yeah, I am." She got up and left, not wanting to risk ending up like Mawile.

"'Kay, so there are 10 of you left…unless you want to make a confessional or something, dig in!"

The whole group left for the confessional. Lickitung stared.

"Okay…we'll just, um, start when you get back, then…" she said, her voice trailing off.

**…**

**Onix grinned meanly. "I can do these brownies. I am going to kick Munchlax's butt!"**

**…**

**Makuhita smiled. "Er, it's great that I actually got this far…but I don't think I can take much more."**

**…**

**Honchkrow sat still. "I won't make it past this round…I have to put my hopes on the others."**

**…**

**Dragonair smiled lightly. "I'm glad I'm able to help the team," she said in her musical voice. "We'll try to win. I don't know if I'll be able to get past this round, though…I think this challenge may be taking a toll on everyone."**

**…**

**Wigglytuff waved at the camera. "Hi, everybody! I like eating, so I'm glad I can help out here!"**

**…**

**Machoke slammed his fists together. "Let's get this party STARTED!"**

**He opens the door and punches the air outside…or so he thinks. Then Marshtomp says, "I am going to KILL YOU RIGHT NOW, MACHOKE!"**

**A fight is heard going on outside.**

**…**

**Marshtomp has a bit of a bloody nose but is otherwise fine. "I took care of Machoke. He punched me, so I gave him what he deserves. You know, he's really a lot weaker than he looks…then again, I probably am one of the strongest Pokemon here. And I'm not bragging, but it's true."**

**"Anyway, this food challenge is pretty simple, so I hope we can win it. For once."**

**…**

**Munchlax waves at the camera like Wigglytuff did. "It's nice that I'm one of the final ten in the eating competition. You know, I'm hungry. I wonder if we go back early, can we start eating our brownies before everyone else arrives. I mean, it's not based on how quick you eat, it's how much you eat, right?"**

**…**

**Tropius sighs. "I am not feeling good right now. But then again, no one is. I think-OW!"**

**He looks up and realized he hit his head against the top of the confessional.**

**"Why did they have to make this room so small?"**

**…**

**Meganium smiles gently. "It's great that I made it so far…even if I do feel sick. But in this competition, you get what you pay for, right?"**

**…**

"Finally, we can have the brownies," announced Lickitung. "Go!"

Everybody dug in to their dishes, although most of them did it halfheartedly.

Only a few minutes after everybody began, Honchkrow muttered. "I quit. I can't do any more."

"Me too," said Dragonair wistfully. "I wish I could do more, but…"

Machoke, Marshtomp, and Wigglytuff all dropped out at about the halfway point through their pans. The only five Pokemon to finish were Makuhita, Munchlax, Tropius, Onix, and Meganium.

"Who's ready for our next round?" asked Lickitung. Only Munchlax raised his hand.

"It's a cake! You have to eat the _whole thing!_" exclaimed Lickitung happily.

"I'm out!" Makuhita said. "Sorry for leaving, Munchlax, but it's up to you."

"Me too," said Meganium unhappily. "Go, Tropius! Go, Onix!"

Tropius smiled back at her and winked. Onix looked at her and nodded his head.

Munchlax smiled and waved at the cheers of his team. He pretended to blow kisses.

Lickitung wheeled three cakes out onto the table. "Here you go, everyone!"

The cakes were very fancy and a lot of work had been put into making them. They had lots of frosting and it was covered in candies like gumdrops and candy canes. The cakes were also much longer than a regular cake, clearly to make it as challenging as possible.

"Go!"

Munchlax started gobbling up the cake, piece by piece. Tropius took a few pieces and took breaks in between. Onix also took huge chunks of the cake at one time through his large mouth.

After about five minutes, Tropius sighed. "I'm out. This is way too tough. Keep it up, Onix!"

Onix was busy burying his face in a part of the cake covered in frosted pink flowers, so he had no time to reply or even listen to Tropius's comment.

Cries of cheer for both sides were heard, and they both still kept eating at it.

Duskull turned to Totodile and Lickitung. "You know, Onix is doing better than I thought."

Lickitung shakes her head. "Trust me, I know Munchlax. Onix is tiring out…Munchlax is going to want Round 10. Onix is wearing out."

Totodile smiles. "Hey, viewers…cool food fiesta finale thing, right? Thanks, thought so."

**…**

**Munchlax smiles. "Best challenge idea EVER! And so fun, too!"**

**…**

**Onix groans. "This food's gonna kill me…I quit."**

**…**

When Onix got back to the cafeteria, the room was in an uproar.

"Onix! How COULD you!" shouted a female voice.

"Let's see you try eating a full cake along with everything else!" he shouted. Whoever it was, he shut her up.

"Well, Palkias," said Totodile, smiling. "You guys actually did better than any of us expected. But you ARE going to the elimination ceremony. So…adios!"

**…**

**Buneary frowned in defiance. "I'm voting off Buizel! He's a traitor!"**

**…**

**Buizel crosses his arms and has a gleam in his eye. "Buneary's going home tonight…I think I have the majority here."**

**…**

**Tropius nods his head. "Buizel convinced Meganium, Misdreavus, Wigglytuff, Haunter, and I to vote for Buneary. I hope he goes home…I've never liked her, really. Nothing personal, before now."**

**…**

**Pikachu gives a thumbs-up. "I guess we're voting Buizel off! Buneary's pretty cool, actually, so this works. I'd rather have Buizel gone, 'cause I'm pretty convinced he's cheating on her and not the other way around. And if Monferno's backing up her story, then I'll trust anything she says."**

**…**

**Dragonair starts speaking in her melodic accent. "It wasn't easy deciding who to vote for...I had to really think it through. But after looking at the evidence, I believe Buneary's telling the truth, and Buizel's lying. But they both seem to think they're telling the truth. I believe that someone told them lies, and they believed it. And now the lies are spreading…"**

**"I have to vote for Buizel, just because…he's more dangerous, and I don't like lies, however much he believes it. Now I just have to work out who told them the lies so I can vote for them next."**

**…**

**Gothorita looks bored. "It's pretty clear to vote off Buizel. He's the more dangerous of the two. But if Buneary goes home, that's fine too. As long as it's not one of us going home."**

**…**

**Shieldon sits grimly. "I don't like this whole Buizel and Buneary issue, but on the bright side, I doubt that anyone will vote for me even if I am the first Pokemon out today."**

**…**

**Mightyena looks a little regretful. "I'm voting off Buneary. I feel bad about this…I'm only doing it for Liepard. I'm not really very close friends with Buizel. I'm not really friends with Buneary, either, but I have nothing against either of them. I guess that's what it all comes down to in a game like this."**

**…**

**Misdreavus looks slightly confused. "I don't see why the rest of the team wants to vote for Buneary, but I'll do what they say…"**

**…**

"And, here we are at the elimination ceremony!" began Duskull. "Here, I have 17 ribbons, but there are 18 of you sitting out there. Meaning, one of you will go home after you don't receive a ribbon."

"Move on! You do this every episode!" drawled Liepard.

"Is some widdle kitty bored," responded Totodile. "Go pway wif some string, widdle kitty."

"Shadow Ball!" she screeched. A powerful-looking ball of dark energy shot at Totodile. He yelped and scurried behind Duskull.

"I'm sorry, Liepard," said Totodile. "Not that I should apologize," he added in a whisper.

"Thank you," she says, sitting down gracefully.

Duskull continues, only glaring for a second before making his voice cheerful and loud as usual. "Let's give ribbons to the Pokemon with no votes! Onix, Tropius, Meganium!" he called. The three Pokemon sat down on the other side of the campfire benches.

"Wigglytuff, Dragonair, Mightyena, Haunter, and Monferno!" he continued. The five Pokemon got up to claim their ribbons.

"Gothorita, Liepard, Froslass, and Riolu!" he called. The four of them also went up to claim their ribbons.

"Porygon, Misdreavus, and Pikachu!" he called. The three Pokemon happily went up.

Shieldon, Buneary, and Buizel still hadn't gotten their ribbons.

"Okay, one more of you received no votes. The other two…both received a lot of votes," said Duskull.

"So, the least-hated of you three currently is…Shieldon!" Totodile finished.

No one was surprised as the Pokemon with the large head walked over and sat by his friends. Buneary and Buizel were all left.

"Well, well, what an interesting problem we have here," murmured Duskull.

"What is it?" asked Totodile. Duskull whispered something in his ear.

"Oh, I know what we can do," Totodile responded. Duskull's face registered agreement, and he nodded.

"All right, Buneary and Buizel," said Duskull. "Every single Pokemon on this team voted for one of you or the other. Unfortunately, you both received 9 votes, and we can't very well do a re-vote since everyone has already made up their minds. So…here's what I'm going to do."

"A double-elimination?!" Buneary asked, horrified.

"No! Today's elimination is based on the challenge…who deserves it more because of the challenge…who did worse in the challenge," said Duskull. "And Buneary, you only got to Round 3, while Buizel made it to round five. So, Buneary, sorry for you, but it's time to go home."

Buizel was grinning smugly as he watched Buneary getting ready to leave.

Buneary sighed. "Buizel, why are you so happy to see me go? Can't we just apologize? Because I'm sorry if I hurt you before. I know I can't change this elimination, but I'd like to make up."

Buizel's smile vanished. "I-I'm sorry too," he stuttered. "I didn't want it to end like this."

Buneary looked at his eyes. And saw something she hoped she wouldn't.

"No, you're not! You're lying. I can tell," she said. Buizel opened his mouth to speak, but she continued. "Don't even try to convince me, I saw your eyes. So, you know what? I'm glad to be off this island and away from a lying jerk like you. I'd rather be as far away from someone who just uses girls to his own advantage as I can," she finished dramatically.

Buizel sat there, looking a little embarrassed. Dragonair, hidden behind some other Pokemon, gave a small smile at the thought.

**…**

**Buneary smiles attractively at the camera. "Well, this is it. I'm finally taking the boat back to Pokemon Loser Island. I've heard they let you visit your parents if you need to for a couple days, and I really miss them. And, on the bright side, I'm going to get to see my best friend, Maractus!"**

**"Now, about Buizel…well, it was totally unexpected to me. But at the same time, I feel…more free. Buizel maybe wasn't the guy for me. I think I'll go put my dating opportunities to rest for a bit and see who comes up."**

**"And Buizel, if you ever get to see this, you're a lying cheater and a jerk who uses girls. I may not be the smartest Pokemon on this island, but I can tell when someone is lying completely, and in my opinion, that's just as useful as the brains. My message to all remaining girls on the island…don't trust him, EVER, in a million years. That includes you, Liepard. We may not be friends, but I think there's a possibility you like him, and I wouldn't wish what I've gone through on anyone."**

**"That's all I have to say. It was nice being here, even if it had to end this way."**

**…**

Buneary had packed together her suitcase and was standing on the dock. She stood by the dock, waving to all of her friends.

"Thanks, guys," she said to Shieldon, Pikachu, Riolu, and Monferno. "You've all been great."

After Shieldon, Pikachu, and Riolu had turned around and Monferno was about to follow, she spoke quietly to him. "Good luck," she said with a wink. He blushed but returned the sincere smile. "Thanks."

Dragonair also came up to say a goodbye to her. "Hey, Dragonair, you've been a good friend. Thanks."

The Dragon-type spoke quietly. "Thank you. I appreciate that. Not many Pokemon have ever called me a good friend before."

Buneary smiled at her. "If you want to change that, you should go make new friends! That's the only way you'll ever have more friends."

"I'll try," said Dragonair gratefully.

"Hey, Buizel!" she called. "I'm sorry…"

He looked at her and gave her a blank look, which she returned with a small smile before she continued speaking.

"…that I ruined your chances of ever getting a girlfriend again by exposing your true personality on live TV."

He scowled as she turned around and started hopping toward the boat. But about a second after she did, she started glowing…

Her shape changed…

"I'm Lopunny!" the Pokemon that had previously been Buneary cried. She danced around a little bit. She rushed back to the Pokemon crowding the dock, hugging Dragonair and planting a small kiss on Monferno's cheek.

"Thanks," he whispered.

"Don't mention it," Lopunny said, poking him in the chest. "But I don't want to see you soon. Get as far as you can in this competition."

Lopunny ran back to the boat (much quicker now that she actually had long legs). With a final cheer of "Go, Palkias!" the boat sped away and the remaining Pokemon went back to their cabins.

**…**

**"I will miss her," Dragonair said sadly.**

**…**

**"Jeez, affectionate much?" said Monferno. He was trying to sound exasperated, but couldn't keep the happy and excited notes out of his voice.**

**…**

Duskull and Totodile stood on the dock, wrapping up the episode.

"Well, that's all for this episode!" said Duskull.

"Pokemon Challenge Island: helping Pokemon evolve since 2012," said Totodile, amused.

"That evolution was pretty cool…anyway, Buizel's still here and Buneary…ahem, Lopunny's not, but everyone hates Buizel now, so…we'll see what happens next time on POKEMON CHALLENGE ISLAND!"

...

And, there you have it! Buneary, I mean, Lopunny is out! But she kicked Buizel's butt beforehand, so it's all good, right?

This overdramatic chapter was very overdramatic. No questions needed.

I didn't plan to have her evolve this episode, actually, it just kind of spontaneously happened. I did have the whole Buneary/Lopunny and Monferno relationship sort of worked out though. It was in the makings since about episode 3.

Well, an eating challenge that kinda sorta didn't work out the way I wanted it to. I mean, it wasn't bad, but it wasn't as...exciting as I hoped it would be. I guess it was an attempt that didn't quite work out. I'll work on my excitingness of my chapters (and I know it's not a word. But it should be.)

Heh heh, Froslass's team outplotted Liepard's team...heh heh.

Wonder what Buizel's situation is going to be in the next few episodes...he's not exactly popular right now, is he? But Froslass was right, it does take away attention from her team.

Please review! It's my only way of making this story better with you contributing! And you can vote in my poll for who you'd like to win, believe it or not, I do consider the votes I receive there. So please review, last I checked I had over 600 views on this story and only 16 reviews. I know there are people out there who don't review, and I'd like to change that. You don't know how much it means to me when you review my story. Honestly, it makes my day better, whether it's to say that what I'm doing already is good, or just for constructive criticism. And I need new ideas too. So, please, please, PLEASE review. Don't hesitate, because I appreciate reviews, and if there are any questions or suggestions I always try to put them in my Q&A thing. So just...review. It's simple. That's all I ask.

Now that we're done with that happy little ranting session... ;)

Tell me who your favorite characters are in your review...and favorite villains and alliances too.

Next episode: Are you tired? Well too bad, because the goal next time is to stay awake as long as possible! It's the awakeathon! Winner gets a victory for their team...and also...very...sleepy...

That's all, people! See you next time on...

POKEMON CHALLENGE ISLAND!

Lopunny: Review, please? 'Cause I'm cool and evolved and all that?


	9. Episode 9: Awake in the Awakeathon!

Hi, people! It's Riolu929 and I'm not dead like some of you might have thought. It just took me a really long time to post this chapter of PCI, and for that I am sorry. Forgive me, I've had things coming up that make writing stories difficult. But I've been working on it, and I wrote about half of this story in one day just so I could have it online as soon as possible.

Q&A Session time. YAY. Actually on second thought, there really weren't any questions to answer this time. Sorry, guys :(

Since we don't have a Q&A session, I'll just put current poll results! The poll is for who people want to win PCI, and anybody can vote for up to 15 people, including eliminated characters (who can be brought back if I choose to):

6 people voted for Riolu.

5 people voted for Shieldon, Sentret, Zorua, and Dragonair.

4 people voted for Meganium, Pachirisu, Haunter, Mightyena, Froslass, Lopunny, and Kirlia.

3 people voted for Kricketune, Torchic, Pikachu, Gothorita, Plusle, and Minun.

2 people voted for Wigglytuff, Tropius, Swellow, Monferno, Marshtomp, Misdreavus, Whimsicott, Sneasel, and Mawile.

1 person voted for Porygon, Honchkrow, Makuhita, Numel, Munchlax, and Onix.

0 people voted for Glameow, Machoke, Mothim, Liepard, Qwilfish, Buizel, and Maractus.

Just because someone's high up on the poll doesn't mean they're the definite winner, but the farther up they are, the more likely it is that they'll win. Nothing is guaranteed yet, however, so if you want to change things, vote! Thanks to anyone who's voted!

This chapter's a bit slow, since I had a hard time writing it, but it's not that bad. Certainly not my worst chapter. Anyway, please enjoy!

Episode 9:

"Hello, world! Welcome to the hit TV show, Pokemon Challenge Island!" cheered Duskull. "I'm Duskull, and this is your host, Totodile! Say hello, Totodile!"

"No," mumbled Totodile angrily.

"Why not?" Duskull challenged. "Give me one good reason why you should not say hello to our audiences, who, let me remind you, pay me, and therefore, also indirectly pay _you_."

"You woke me up early this morning," the Water-type said, grumpy.

"You're such a grouch," Duskull sneered. "And it's my fault that you woke up early this morning, not the audience's. Don't blame our innocent viewers."

Totodile sighed. "Hi, audience. Duskull, this huge jerk, only let me have 6 hours-"

"That's enough!" Duskull said hotly. "The reason we woke you up early this morning is because today's challenge is a non-sleeping challenge, and you take the first shift to watch the contestants."

"Isn't it supposed to be the contestants who are trying not to fall asleep, not me?" Totodile yawned.

"Yes, but we have to have someone there watching them to make sure they don't fall asleep. That would be you, sir," said Duskull. "You're on first shift."

"Right, then. Well, welcome to…yawn…Challenge Pokemon Island Episode 7," said Totodile drowsily.

"Er, Pokemon Challenge Island, Episode 9 is what he meant, I guess," said Duskull. "Maybe I should have let him have more sleep. Ah, well, some time you can spend watching the competitors do their…competitor stuff, and then we'll start the challenge, which, unofficially, starts after breakfast. So most of this footage is from yesterday…unless it's night, which means it happened overnight. All right? Awesome!"

"And first, we're doing conferences with the eliminated computers," said Totodile, still in the same slurred voice.

Duskull sighed. "Confessionals with the eliminated competitors. Cameraman, turn the camera off now, please. Thanks."

**…**

**Maractus waves at the camera. "Hi, everyone! It's me, Maractus! Yay!"**

**"I'm so happy that Buneary…I mean, Lopunny…got out of her relationship with Buizel. I guess he's really not a great guy…even if he is, like, the hottest guy on the island. But, whatever, you know? You win some, you lose some…and I think she's totally starting to win some with Monferno," finishes the Cactus Pokemon, grinning. "Besides, now that we're both, like, done with the competition, we can actually talk to each other without our teams worrying! We can have girls' chats every night! Awesome!"**

**…**

**Lopunny gives an awkward smile. "I have such mixed emotions right now…ugh, this is dumb. I can't even explain what I'm thinking. Anyway, it's great to be here with Maractus and have Monferno as, um, hopefully my boyfriend. He's better than Buizel, definitely. But at the same time, I kind of miss Buizel, and I know I can't have Monferno with me right now, and also, I probably embarrassed myself on public TV. Which I really don't want to deal with when I get home."**

**A wider smile spreads across her face. "It's okay, though. I mean, I embarrassed Buizel more, right?"**

**…**

**Numel yawns. "I don't care who wins, as usual…go, Dialgas. Although, anybody who voted against me is all right with me, too, I suppose…"**

**…**

**Qwilfish sits on a chair in the much-larger Pokemon Loser Island confessional room. "It's so relaxing here…sometimes you forget the chaos of the, er, chaotic TV show you were just on, you know? Anyway…watching last episode, I never suspected that Buizel and Buneary…ahem, Lopunny…would break up like that. He's more complicated than I thought. He seems like a good teammate, but, Liepard, please be careful of him…I know more than you do now about what's going on on the island."**

**…**

**Mothim waves at the camera with his wing. "Hm, this is the life, man. Anyway, it'd be really epic if Wigglytuff won. I hope she can stay awake for a long time, because that's the challenge. I can tell some Pokemon will be hard to beat in this challenge, but I think you can do it! Go Palkias!"**

**…**

**Minun frowns. "I feel really bad for Mothim…he didn't deserve to get out that early. I wish there was some way to redo it…I wasn't on his team, so I didn't vote off, but still...the vote seemed kind of off, or something."**

**"Anyway, I'm obviously rooting for Plusle and Pachirisu! You two can do it! And if you don't…Pachirisu, there's coffee on the island. And Plusle, uh, you'll find stuff to do."**

**…**

**Glameow lays stretched out, thinking. "If only there was a way to contact Sneasel, to warn him…I have to find a way to contact the island."**

**She sits straight up. "That's it!"**

**Then she rushes out of the confessional.**

**…**

Minun started up her laptop and logged on. She clicked 'Video Chat' and waited for Plusle to log on. They always talked every day at 10 A.M, unless there was a challenge going on. She knew there was a challenge today, but she hoped it hadn't already started.

After waiting a few minutes, she sighed. The challenge must have already started, or Plusle would be waiting at his laptop before.

"I'll just talk to him tomorrow," she reminded herself. She brightened up and was about to look for Maractus and Lopunny when she heard a voice.

"Minun…we need to talk."

She turned and saw Glameow sitting in the shadows. Curious, she walked over.

"Okay, so you're allowed to contact Plusle on the island by video chat each day, correct? Because you're his sister?" asked Glameow. Minun noted that there was an unusual tone to her voice-desperate, possibly?

"Well, yes…but you don't have any brothers or sisters," Minun said. "Well, actually, you might have some at home, but you don't have any on the island. If you want to talk to your brothers and sisters, just do it on your laptop. I can help you with the download, if you need it.

Glameow shook her head. "That's not what I meant. I need to contact the island. More specifically, Sneasel."

"Why?" asked Minun.

Glameow thought for a moment. "Did I ever tell you how I got eliminated?"

"No, but I saw. We were both Dialgas, right? You were voted off during the hide-and-seek challenge because you were the first one found," answered Minun.

"Yes, but…I might not have been eliminated if not for a certain Pokemon. Honchkrow. He was supposed to vote with us, but he didn't. I remember because the person Sneasel and I tried to vote off only received 3 votes, when they were supposed to receive at least 5. With that, the majority might have changed."

"Who did you vote for?" asked Minun curiously.

Glameow had really voted for Minun, but she wasn't going to tell her that. "Makuhita."

"All right…so you want me to let you contact Plusle, who will find a way to bring Sneasel into our chat session, where you can tell him about what Honchkrow did to you," Minun summarized. "But how do you know it was Honchkrow, for sure? Just because his whole team didn't vote with you doesn't mean they voted against you."

"The smug look on his face. Besides, what other motive would they have for keeping it a secret who they were really voting for?" Glameow asked.

"Good point," said Minun, though she was still a bit doubtful.

Glameow moved closer. "Look, I don't expect you to make up your mind or anything about this today. But try to get back to me with an answer soon. One episode could make the difference. I'm not trying to give Sneasel an unfair advantage…I'm just trying to give him the truth."

With that, she walked away, leaving Minun thinking.

…

"Glad you could all make it," Honchkrow said, satisfied. Machoke, Sneasel, and Mawile all sat down in the small forest area where they held all their meetings.

"We're glad to be here," said Machoke. He punched a tree for emphasis. It snapped in two and the half that wasn't attached to the ground fell down and almost hit Mawile. She managed to jump away just in time.

"Watch it!" she hissed.

"Sor-ry," muttered Machoke.

"Assuming that we go to the elimination ceremony, who should we vote for?" asked Honchkrow.

"Torchic," Machoke volunteered, as always. "Or Marshtomp."

Sneasel leaned over and whispered to Mawile, "The girl who beat him up." Mawile giggled, then straightened up.

"Swellow or Zorua or something like that," said Mawile.

"Uh…Makuhita, Kricketune, or Kirlia," rattled off Sneasel.

"All good choices," approved Honchkrow. "I like both of Machoke's suggestions. Torchic can't help the team much, while Marshtomp can do more, but doesn't. If it were later in the game and team strength didn't matter so much, I'd go with one of your suggestions, Mawile and Sneasel."

"That's fine, either of them works with me," said Sneasel indifferently.

"I guess Marshtomp would probably be better…?" asked Mawile questioningly.

"I want Marshtomp off the island too," Machoke seethed. "She doesn't deserve to be here."

"Sure, Marshtomp," said Sneasel. "I'm okay with it…although she is pretty entertaining…"

Honchkrow gave him a harsh look. "I'll still vote for her. I'm just saying," Sneasel corrected.

"Good…we'll vote off whichever one we can after we have a quick meeting before the voting ceremony," said Honchkrow. "You're all free to go now."

Machoke and Honchkrow left one way, and Mawile and Sneasel left in the other.

…

"It's such a nice day…even for winter," said Mawile, walking along slowly through the woods with Sneasel, forgetting about the challenge that would happen later and instead only focusing on the present.

"Yeah," said Sneasel. "It is really nice."

Then he turned to Mawile and looked at her straight in the eyes. "Uh, Mawile…I've waited a long time to ask you this. Do you want to go out with me?"

Mawile looked at him, standing confidently, but his eyes gave away how scared he really was. Mawile really did like him…but she couldn't help feeling guilty around him. Not just because she voted off Glameow, his only friend for the first few episodes, but because she had helped her team PLAN how to vote off Glameow.

Still, this could be her only opportunity…

"Yes," she heard herself saying. "Of course."

**…**

**Mawile looks like she's holding back tears. "Oh, Arceus…what have I done...I'm never going to be able to feel relaxed when I'm around him! But I can't tell him the truth…he'll hate me if I do, especially since I didn't tell him earlier. And Honchkrow and Machoke will turn against me too…what am I going to do? There's no easy way out of this!"**

**…**

**Sneasel looks relieved and proud. "I'm so glad I got that done with…but I'm even happier that she said yes."**

**…**

Kricketune, Kirlia, and Whimsicott were sitting around looking through pictures Kirlia had taken during the party last week thrown by Duskull and Totodile.

"This one…must be before Munchlax drank the remaining stuff left in the punch bowl," said Whimsicott jokingly. "It's still there, see."

"Look at Wigglytuff!" laughed Kricketune. "What's she doing?"

"I don't know…" Kirlia admitted.

Kirlia pulled out another picture, this one of Misdreavus, Haunter, and Kirlia, all standing together and smiling.

"I remember this one…" said Kirlia. "Haunter and Misdreavus wanted a picture with me, and I wanted pictures with all the competitors I actually liked. They're really nice. I wish they had ended up on our team."

Then she turned to Kricketune and Whimsicott. "I never got one with you two. I wanted to wait until now. Do you want to take a picture?" she asked.

"Sure," they both chimed at the same time.

"Great!" she said happily. They all put on their best smiles, then looked at the picture, which had come out pretty well.

"Hey, I'm gonna go back to camp and see when the challenge should start," said Whimsicott. "See you guys around."

"Okay," said Kricketune cheerfully.

"Bye!" called Kirlia.

**…**

**Kirlia smiled. "I like taking pictures almost as much as I like dancing. I guess it's just that it records your memories so you can always see them, and to remember the good times. I've had a lot of good times here with my friends."**

**…**

**"I'm glad Kirlia's happy," said Kricketune simply.**

**…**

**Whimsicott shrugged. "Okay, I'm not going to lie, I'm really jealous of Kirlia. She's beautiful, talented, funny, kind, smart…I can see why Kricketune likes her. But I'm her friend too, and that comes first. She's a good Pokemon, and I like her. You know, let Bagons be Bagons, or whatever that old expression is. Er, let bygones be bygones? Wait, I don't even know if that applies here."**

**…**

Kirlia and Kricketune sat down with each other in the clearing after Whimsicott left.

"It's so nice out here," said Kirlia quietly. "A perfect day…it's not even that cold for winter."

"I agree," said Kricketune. "It is nice."

They sat in silence for a minute, then Kirlia spoke. "Play something for me."

Kricketune turned his head at the sudden request. "Uh, right now?"

"Yes, silly," she said teasingly, gently poking him. "Something really pretty, but kind of sad."

Kricketune thought for a moment, then started playing one of his favorite songs. It echoed through the forest. Kirlia thought it might be the most beautiful thing she had ever heard. A tear fell from her eye.

"That was beautiful," she said. She moved over closer to him and leaned over. He leaned closer to her, and their faces were an inch apart-

"Hey, guys, the challenge is about to start-" said Whimsicott. Her face twisted. "Er, I'll go now," she said, blushing. "Sorry."

Whimsicott walked away before the other two could say anything.

"We should go too," Kirlia whispered.

"Right," said Kricketune.

**…**

**Whimsicott slaps herself in the forehead. "I am SUCH an idiot."**

**…**

"So when are we gonna do it?" asked Pikachu.

"Now," Riolu responded. "Before the challenge starts."

Riolu, Pikachu, and Shieldon crept through the camp and searched for their target. Finally, they found him.

"Hey! Monferno!" Pikachu called. The fire monkey turned and looked around, then bounded towards Pikachu once he identified his voice.

"What's up, guys?" he asked, smiling. They all smiled back.

Riolu began talking. "Well, Monferno, we're all friends. And we were thinking that, as a good friend, you might as well join this alliance I had with my first two friends, Shieldon and Pikachu."

"You were all in an alliance?" asked Monferno, surprised. "I just thought you hung out together all the time."

"Nope, we've been in an alliance," said Shieldon. "It's called Team Shield. Anyway, we thought you could join up with us. If that's okay with you."

"_Okay?_ That would be awesome!" Monferno cheered. "Thanks!"

Just then, Duskull's voice rang through all the speakers. "Hey, everyone, glad you could make it! To, you know, this episode. Anyway, meet me in the cafeteria so I can explain the challenge and you can have breakfast! You're all going to hate me after this one…"

"No need, I'm already doing that," called Marshtomp, a distance away from Team Shield's meeting area.

"I heard that," said Duskull.

…

"Hi, losers," said Totodile cheerfully once all 33 remaining campers arrived. "Today is going to be the most tiring episode ever. Well, not for _us_, but for _you_."

"What do you mean, tiring?" asked Haunter.

"We're not going to be running a marathon or something…are we?" asked Meganium, a worried note in her voice.

"No! Today...and possibly tomorrow…and maybe the day after…you will all be competing to stay awake!" cried Duskull. "That's right…you doze off, you're out of the competition. The team with the Pokemon who stays awake the longest wins! The team who can't stay awake loses, but we're giving the last three Pokemon awake of the losing team invincibility."

"So…just stay awake for longer than they do, and we win?" asked Zorua. "That seems pretty simple…but really, really boring. Ugh."

"I have chronic insomnia," said Honchkrow. "I can stay awake for days. What do you want me to do?"

"Oh, Honchkrow, right," said Duskull. "We looked at all your medical records and found out that Honchkrow is the ONLY ONE of you who has insomnia. Therefore, he'll be the ONLY ONE to receive automatic invincibility! This means that if the Dialgas lose, they'll be getting their last three awake Pokemon plus Honchkrow with invincibility."

"That's a rip-off!" Onix roared. "They're getting a better deal!"

"Sucks for you," Totodile shot back. "When was this show ever fair?"

Onix opened his mouth for a comeback, then shut it without a word.

"All right. Everyone finished with breakfast?" asked Duskull. "Good. Because we put pills to make you fall asleep faster in with your breakfast. So, good luck, because the clock is ticking…"

"Oh, and we'll be taking you through a series of mini-challenges designed to either keep you active, or get you more tired. I guess you'll find it out the hard way," cackled Totodile. "Mwahahahaha!"

…

"Great. So now we're drugged," said Sneasel.

"Yes, thanks to Duskull and Totodile," agreed Mawile.

Duskull and Totodile led them to a building that simply said "Cabin" on the front.

"We're going into a building called 'Cabin?' Not 'Library,' or 'Gym,' or 'Cafeteria,' but 'Cabin?'" questioned Liepard.

"Yeah, we couldn't exactly figure out what to name it, but it's special purpose for being made was to use in this episode," Duskull admitted.

"Oh, I'm going back to camp," said Totodile. "You take first shift, Duskull."

"Got it," Duskull responded.

"First shift?" asked Plusle. "What do you mean?"

Totodile rolled his eyes. "Well, obviously Duskull and I aren't going to torture ourselves by trying to stay awake as long as you! We're alternating watching over you after every six hours, so the other one can sleep or do whatever. Do you really think Duskull and I want to do this challenge?"

"I should have figured," Marshtomp snorted. She got a cold look from Totodile and responded with a colder look of her own.

In the building, Duskull led them to a room full of beds. They each had a pillow on them and a blanket, although the room was pretty warm. The light was dim, and soft, soothing music played in the background.

"It's really nice in here," Wigglytuff yawned. "La la la…"

"Ooh, beds!" exclaimed Pachirisu. She started jumping up and down on one of them.

"This might not be a fun challenge…" said Shieldon.

"I'm tired already," Torchic complained quietly.

"We have to do this, Dialgas," Swellow reminded her team calmly.

"All right," Duskull said at the front of the room. "I'm going to let you pick out your beds. Once that's done, we're going through our first mini-challenge. Oh, these mini-challenges are optional, by the way, but you can't win a prize if you don't try them. Good luck to all!"

**…**

**Pachirisu giggles. "I had tons of coffee just before this!"**

**…**

**Buizel frowns. "I really am not in the mood for a challenge today."**

**…**

**Swellow smiles. "We're going to win this. We have to! We're losing!"**

**…**

**Porygon frowns. "I calculate…that I'm really not going to last very long. Computers go into sleep mode too!**

**…**

**Monferno grins. "Hey, after joining the alliance, I'm pumped! No way I'm falling asleep!"**

**…**

Sentret groaned. He had slept horribly last night, and he really didn't want to do this challenge today. He especially didn't want to be the first one to fall asleep.

"S-Sentret?" asked Torchic. Sentret turned around and yawned. "I'm fine Torchic…I just didn't sleep very well, and the music is making me tired."

"Me too," Torchic admitted.

"I'm excited! I hope we can have food!" exclaimed Munchlax.

Munchlax looked next to him and saw Misdreavus lying down on her bed with her eyes closed.

"Misdreavus…are you asleep?" he asked. She opened her eyes. "No, I'm just giving my eyes some rest."

"Okay," he said. She smiled at him, then turned because Duskull started talking.

"So, how are you adjusting to your new beds?" Duskull said. "Okay, don't answer that…time for our first mini-challenge! If you want to do it, come with me! If you're not interested, stay back here.

Only a few Pokemon stayed on their beds-Marshtomp, Sneasel, Sentret, Gothorita, Machoke, Porygon, and Zorua. The rest followed Duskull to the next room over.

"The challenge is…video games!" said Duskull, grinning. "We've set up a Nintendo Wii in here. You're going to be playing a video game tournament on Super Smash Bros. Brawl! Actually, on second thought, you'll be playing three tournaments. Whoever wins each of them gets these yummy bagels!" he said, showing the bag of delicious-looking bagels to the campers.

Porygon suddenly sped into the room. "Video games? I'm in!"

"Uh, okay?" said Duskull. "Then let's play."

Porygon won two of the tournaments, and Haunter beat him in the final tournament out of pure luck. Duskull awarded them with the bagels. Porygon was about to split his second bagel between Gothorita and Froslass when Froslass shook her head.

"Don't give us the bagel, Porygon. It's meant to make you fall asleep faster," she said. "The way it's made, it speeds up your need to sleep."

"I already ate mine," he panicked. "What should I do?"

"There's nothing you can do to help _yourself_," she said, annoyed. "But you can give the bagel to a Dialga. It would help the team, and you eating the other one wouldn't be a complete problem."

"All right," he said. He raised up the bagel. "Who wants it?" he called. Many Pokemon raised their hands. Suddenly, Machoke came up from behind him and grabbed it. "Now it's mine."

Suddenly, everyone turned at the sound of snoring. It was actually three Pokemon-Sentret, Shieldon, and Misdreavus.

"They're asleep!" Pachirisu yelled, bouncing up and down.

"Well, then, we'll take them out of the cabin so they can get their sleep." He woke them up, and they all groggily made their way out of the cabin. Misdreavus cast a sympathetic glance at her team.

…

Zorua stared at Machoke in distaste. "I wanted that bagel."

Swellow leaned over. "It's probably going to make him go asleep faster. I wouldn't have taken it if I were you."

Zorua shrugged. "I still wanted to eat it. That doesn't make any difference. But maybe you're right. Duskull would do that kind of thing."

Nearby, Munchlax yawned and suddenly collapsed. Duskull got a few interns to carry him out.

**…**

**Marshtomp yawns. "I am so unbelievably bored right now. I'm going to freaking die."**

**…**

**Pikachu frowns. "This is really tiring, why'd he drug our food?!"**

**…**

**Kricketune sighs and starts playing an upbeat melody.**

**…**

**Wigglytuff is sleeping in the confessional. Cofagrigus and Cacturne, two interns who had been in the Halloween maze, walked in and carried her out.**

**…**

Mawile and Sneasel were sitting on a bed, talking to each other. Suddenly, Mawile looked up at Sneasel.

"I have something to tell you," she said. Her eyes contained a combination of sadness, fear, and hope-at least, that's what Sneasel thought.

Then, Mawile collapsed on the ground, asleep. Cacturne came back to take her out of the room.

**…**

**Sneasel punches the floor. "She was just about to tell me something important!"**

**…**

**"I'm out," Pikachu mutters, then starts snoozing.**

**…**

"All right, how many of you are there?" Duskull asks, before doing a quick count. "12 Dialgas and 13 Palkias for a total of…25. Cool, I can work with that. We're going to do another challenge! You all have to run a mile! Fastest time wins a prize. Whoever volunteers, come on up by me!"

Plusle, Zorua, Machoke, Pachirisu, Sneasel, and Makuhita of the Dialgas volunteered to try running, as did Mightyena, Monferno, Riolu, Liepard, and Gothorita of the Palkias. Everyone else stayed behind.

**…**

**Froslass frowned. "The run will keep them awake, yes, but the tiredness they'll feel afterward will put them to sleep. And only one Pokemon can win."**

**…**

**Gothorita gave a small smile. "I'm not doing it to win the prize. I'm just trying to stay awake."**

**…**

**Makuhita struck a victory pose. "Let's do this!"**

**…**

**Mightyena grinned. "You're going down, everyone!"**

**…**

**Pachirisu smiled. "I think I'll win. Maybe not, though."**

**…**

**Zorua groaned. "Oh, we don't stand a chance if Pachirisu's racing. Have you seen that girl run?!"**

**…**

**Buizel glared at the camera. "My team better win this. Or else I'll be the one voted off, most likely. If Liepard can't find enough other allies. I hate that I have to rely on her to stay in…"**

**…**

Duskull went to the starting line with the competing Pokemon. "And…go! Four laps around the track!"

Everyone started jogging, but Pachirisu was in first. Mightyena was in second, and she wasn't even close to being caught up with Pachirisu.

Within less than a minute, Pachirisu had already completed her first quarter mile and was starting her second. Mightyena wasn't even close.

Near the back of the pack, Machoke was angry that he was so far in last. "I'm not going to come in last," he growled, punching Gothorita and Makuhita out of the way.

Gothorita glared at him, but got up and continued running. Makuhita shouted after him, "Dude, what was that for? I'm on your team!"

**…**

**Makuhita sits down and frowns at the camera. "I don't know what's up with that guy," he said, his voice lower than usual. "He needs to learn exactly what a team is."**

**…**

**"Jerk," Gothorita mutters.**

**…**

Pachirisu had already completed three and a half laps by the time Mightyena, who still kept a steady pace in second place, had just started her second. She had overlapped everyone, including Mightyena, and it seemed like there was no way for her to lose.

Unfortunately, she happened to be near Machoke, who she was in the process of overlapping again. He growled at her, and aimed a punch that sent her flying. He grinned and kept running.

"Aaah!" she screamed in shock. She landed on the ground with a thud.

Duskull cautiously floated over to her. "Roselia! Get in here, stat! Pachirisu's out cold!"

In a minute, Roselia had arrived at the scene and Pachirisu was taken away on a small stretcher. Most of the campers had stared in shock the whole time, but Machoke had kept jogging.

Mightyena turned her head, shook it sadly, and ran the rest of the way to get first place. Duskull announced to everyone, "All right, after that…er, dangerous event, Mightyena has come in first place! I award her with this cup of coffee! To help keep her awake."

Mightyena accepted the coffee, then spoke quietly. "Thank you. I do appreciate this prize, and I'd love to drink it to help my team. I think I might be able to complete this challenge, or at least be one of the longest to stay awake. I probably could. But I'm never going to be able to drink this without feeling really guilty." She shot a glance at Machoke. "Because the real winner of this race should have been Pachirisu. I know she's not on my team, but I'm going to take it to her anyway. Besides, she loves coffee. It's one of her favorite things. She deserves this so much more."

"Uh, Pachirisu's disqualified," Duskull pointed out. "I felt bad for her and I really didn't want to do it, but it's still a fact. Pachirisu was knocked out cold and is therefore disqualified. I don't like it any more than you do, but rules are rules."

"I know she's disqualified," Mightyena said venomously. "I'm still going to take it to her."

Mightyena tossed her head and walked out before anyone could object. Many of the remaining campers, however, weren't going to object, and soon an outburst of clapping arose. Mightyena heard it as she was leaving the building and smiled to herself.

**…**

**"I never really thought I'd say this, but I really owe Mightyena," said Plusle. "She gave the coffee to Pachirisu when she could have drank it all herself. I'm really going to admire her after this. I always thought she might be kind of a bad Pokemon because she's friends with Liepard, but maybe she's really not."**

**…**

**Sneasel fumed, "Machoke is such an idiot! I like Mightyena way better than I like him. I'd gladly trade him to the other team, except if I told him he'd murder me…ugh!"**

**…**

**Kirlia smiled. "I heard about the incident after everyone got back. Mightyena's earned my respect."**

**…**

**Makuhita grinned. "I'm gonna vote out Machoke when the voting ceremony comes around. He thinks he's so tough, but really, Mightyena just beat him with ****_kindness_****. He never thought that was going to happen. Machoke's just a bully who thinks he can do whatever he wants, but really, Mightyena's the one who showed what she can do. I wish she was on our team instead."**

**…**

Roselia was treating Pachirisu with a few Potions in the clinic when she heard a knock at the door. She turned around and opened it and came face-to-face with a tired-looking Mightyena.

"Mightyena, what are you doing here? Shouldn't you be at the challenge? Or did you fall asleep?" Roselia asked, confused.

"No, I'm here for Pachirisu," she said. She slid a bag off her back and opened it to reveal a cup of coffee. "I won this in the race mini-challenge, but Pachirisu really should have won it, and I know she loves coffee."

"Pachirisu's disqualified," said Roselia. "Are you sure you want to do this?"

"Yeah," said Mightyena. Their eyes met, and they both smiled.

"She'll really appreciate this, Mightyena. I'll let her know you brought it," said Roselia. She waved her blue rose at Mightyena as a signal to have her leave, but suddenly, Pachirisu's head perked up.

"I'd know that smell anywhere!" she exclaimed. "Thanks so much, Mightyena! Didn't you win this in the race?" Mightyena nodded, and her smile got bigger. "Then I'll never forget this, ever! I promise! Thank you so much!"

Mightyena laughed quietly and smiled, then left the office to go back to the building where the challenge was being held.

**...**

**Mightyena smiled shyly, which looked different on her than her usual tough expression. "I didn't do it to gain fame or respect or whatever from my team and the other team. I just think any decent Pokemon would have done what I did. That's all there is to it-simple kindness. Which that jerk Machoke is never going to understand…I hope he falls off a cliff or something," she growled.**

**…**

**Pachirisu smiles in her hospital bed. "Thanks, Mightyena!" she whispered, then took a sip of coffee.**

**…**

When Mightyena got back to the cabin, Totodile had taken over a shift for Duskull, and Tropius, Onix, and Kirlia had all fallen asleep. Totodile welcomed her into the cabin.

"Well, if it isn't Little Miss Hero. Everyone, round of applause for this awesome Pokemon!"

Mightyena stared in disbelief as everyone celebrated her return. A chorus of cheers and clapping met her ears and eyes, and even Totodile looked proud for once. She shook her head and went to sit down. "It wasn't anything, really. We have a challenge to complete," she said, and she looked like she was ready to get back to business. As soon as the clapping died down, Kricketune spoke up.

"Uh, Torchic's asleep," he announced. Totodile whistled, and an intern came to take the Fire-type away.

Mightyena noticed Machoke glaring at her. She fixed him with her coldest stare, more powerful after what he had done to Pachirisu. He looked away.

**…**

**Buizel smiled hopefully. "Maybe Mightyena's heroic act was all I need to stay in the game. If she tells people not to vote for me, I bet they wouldn't."**

**…**

**"Why is Buizel staring at me with that weird look in his eyes?" Mightyena asked nervously.**

**…**

Suddenly, Gothorita fell asleep. Cofagrigus the intern came back in to take her out of the building.

Froslass sighed. "Well, it was most likely from the race."

Porygon nodded. "I'm really tired…I wouldn't be surprised if I drift off in the next few minutes. How are you?"

"Not bad," she replied. "I can stay awake for another few hours at minimum, but that might be all we need.

As if to prove her point, Plusle started snoring, and he too was taken out of the room. Froslass raised her eyebrows. "See?"

…

Totodile clapped loudly, and everyone turned toward him. "It's time for a game, everybody! This game is called…uh…stay still! Okay, I actually couldn't care less what the game is called, the point is, you have to stay still and not move the longest. And since we don't have to go anywhere, everybody can participate! So we're going to start. Find a position you're comfortable in and let's go! Winner gets a prize."

After everybody had shifted into positions, Totodile counted down. "Three…two…one."

He then shouted out names as Pokemon moved. "Whimsicott, Riolu, Porygon, Marshtomp, Kricketune, Meganium, Machoke, Zorua, Buizel, Riolu, Dragonair!" he called in the first few seconds.

"Darn it," Whimsicott muttered.

"All of us moved?" Porygon asked disbelievingly.

"I saw it. I'm the judge, not you," said Totodile. "Oh, Liepard, I caught that. You're out too."

She sniffed but said nothing.

Monferno twitched. Totodile called him out.

"Aw, man, I just had an itch," he complained.

Froslass sneezed. "Definitely out!" said Totodile. He then walked to Haunter and poked him. "Asleep. Get him outta here, interns."

Makuhita, Sneasel, and Swellow were the only three Dialgas left, while Mightyena was the only Palkia. Sneasel shifted on his bed.

"Sneasel, you're out. Bed-shifting," said Totodile. Sneasel shrugged and stepped off the bed. Makuhita breathed too heavy and was also called out.

"Okay, that was cheap, calling him out for breathing-" Mightyena began, then realized she was one of the last two Pokemon but had moved. "Whoops."

"Sorry, Mightyena and Makuhita, but Swellow wins this one," announced Totodile. Swellow proudly nodded and accepted her prize.

"I'm giving you these headphones. Listening to music will help you stay awake," said Totodile. "It has a pretty varied music selection. There are folders with music from me, Duskull, Lickitung, and Roselia…you can figure out whose taste in music you like best and just listen to songs from that folder."

Porygon snored loudly all of a sudden. Swellow and Totodile turned and watched an intern carry him out. "And maybe the sooner you listen to music, the better," advised Totodile. Swellow nodded and put in the earbuds.

…

Totodile did a quick count of remaining campers. Dragonair, Makuhita, Mightyena, and Marshtomp had all fallen asleep since Swellow had won the staying still game-actually, Dragonair, Makuhita and Mightyena had fallen asleep, while Marshtomp had given in and attempted to fall asleep due to the fact that she had said she was going to go insane if she didn't.

"Twelve of you remain," said Totodile. "Six on the Dialgas and six on the Palkias, three male and three female for each team. The odds are pretty even here, in my opinion."

Swellow and Zorua sat together, talking. "I hope Machoke falls asleep soon," said Zorua disgustedly. "He doesn't _deserve_ invincibility."

Swellow nodded. "I agree, but at the same time, I'm reluctant to get rid of him. He's a tough Pokemon, and getting rid of him would be a loss.

Zorua looked Swellow directly in the eyes. "At some point, you have to take 'team player' over 'strong but mean.' Don't you agree?"

"I guess," said Swellow, but there was a hint of uncertainty in her voice that was unusual for her. "Still…I hope we don't regret eliminating him."

"We won't," Zorua assured her, a smile sneaking its way onto her face. "We definitely won't."

Behind her, Buizel snored loudly. He was taken out of the room.

…

Kricketune yawned and tried not to close his eyes. Whimsicott dazedly walked over to him.

"Kricketune…if you're into Kirlia, I'm fine with that," she said. "She's my friend, and you're a good guy."

Then she fell asleep. Kricketune, relieved at her answer, yawned again and did the same.

**…**

**"Doing this to us should be punishable by death," said Liepard, but, although her words were menacing, she was too tired to make them come out sounding anything other than bored.**

**…**

**"Kill me now," Sneasel moaned.**

**…**

**"I'm exhausted," Riolu murmured.**

**…**

**Liepard is back in the confessional, but her eyes are barely open. "I need to…" She falls asleep before finishing the sentence.**

**…**

**Cofagrigus and Cacturne, the two interns, are in the confessional.**

**"Why do so many of them fall asleep in the confessional?" asked Cofagrigus. "It's tiring carrying them out of here.**

**"Just think of the pay raise, Cofagrigus. Just think of the pay raise," answered Cacturne.**

**…**

**Zorua looks mildly interested on top of looking tired. "Were two interns using the confessional just now?"**

**…**

Totodile left his shift just as Machoke fell asleep. Cofagrigus, Cacturne, and Kecleon, a third intern, carried him out as Duskull arrived.

"Hi, everybody! I'm back, and I have to say, I'm really surprised that some of you even lasted this twelve hours. We put really strong stuff in your breakfast."

"If we're awake this long, it's not because of lack of trying," Sneasel said through gritted teeth. Riolu gave him a wry smile.

"So, uh, what are the other campers doing right now?" asked Monferno, stifling a yawn.

"All sleeping, except Honchkrow, Pachirisu, and a couple others," Duskull responded. "Unlike you seven, because one of you is going to win this challenge!"

"I don't think it will be me," said Meganium in a voice barely louder than a whisper. Her eyebrows fluttered and she eventually fell into a deep sleep. She, too, was carried out.

"I had more games planned, but you guys don't look like you'd be up for them," said Duskull.

"Only if the prize was coffee or an energy drink. And I don't even like either of them," said Riolu.

"Don't tell Pachirisu, but I think coffee's pretty gross too," said Zorua with a tired giggle.

"The prize was not coffee for this one, so, yeah…anyway, we'll just have it be a battle of who can stay awake longest!" Duskull announced to the six remaining Pokemon-Zorua, Swellow, Sneasel, Monferno, Riolu, and the quiet Froslass, who was awake but hadn't spoken for a while.

Duskull quickly went over to the building's heating and cranked it up. He also dimmed the lights even further and turned on lullaby music, which everybody was able to hear because the power on the iPod Totodile had loaned Swellow had run out.

"Do you think you can do this?" asked Swellow to Sneasel and Zorua. They both bobbed their heads slightly. Swellow dozed off without another word.

Zorua turned to Sneasel. "We have to do this," she said fiercely. "As much as I don't want to…"

Sneasel nodded. "I'd like to sleep too, but I don't think our team can afford any more losses. And look, Riolu's almost asleep."

Sneasel's words proved true. Although Monferno was talking to him, Riolu started responding less and less, and within three minutes, he was also out.

Duskull announced, "You guys are the final four! What a big accomplishment."

Then he cackled. "I feel so sorry for you."

The remaining for campers all glared at him, but he continued looking at them, unfazed.

**…**

**Monferno sits slumped over. "How much longer can we do this?"**

**…**

**Zorua is curled up on the floor, but her eyes are open. "I always took sleep for granted…which I'm never going to do again. I've stayed up longer than this, but, you know, I wasn't drugged…Duskull and Totodile.**

**…**

**Froslass yawns. "This is immensely tiring."**

**…**

**Sneasel grits his teeth. "If it wouldn't keep me from winning a million dollars, I might attack Duskull and Totodile. Because you don't know how hard it is for me not to do just that."**

**…**

As Sneasel left the confessional, he fell asleep while walking and collapsed onto the ground. Zorua rolled her eyes.

**…**

**Zorua groaned. "This would happen to me! How am I supposed to stay awake longer than Froslass and Monferno?" she exclaimed desperately.**

**…**

Zorua looked at up at Monferno and Froslass, then back down at the bed. She drew patterns with her paw out of boredom. Monferno and Froslass sat relatively close to each other, but didn't really talk. Duskull sighed.

"Aren't you guys going to do anything?" asked Duskull.

"I have no energy," moaned Zorua.

"I shouldn't have tried to stay awake," said Froslass.

"Me neither," agreed Monferno.

"You're boring the audience!" complained Duskull.

"Then don't air this part on TV," suggested Zorua in a cold voice.

"Fine, I won't," said Duskull.

Monferno, meanwhile, started humming what was normally an upbeat tune, but sounded slow and depressing in his tired voice.

"Please stop," Froslass said. Monferno raised his eyebrows but stopped.

"Tick tock, tick tock," said Duskull. "Let's go. Someone sleep."

Zorua tried with all her might, but just the word made her tired, and she slowly drifted off.

"Froslass and Monferno, you guys are the winners!" said Duskull enthusiastically. "That means invincibility for your whole team! "

Both of them blinked their eyes once and fell asleep where they were.

…

"Welcome to the elimination ceremony, people!" Duskull screamed into his megaphone. Everyone's head jerked up. They were all sitting around the campfire.

"But…what, I thought we were in the challenge?" said Sentret, bewildered.

"Elimination ceremony?" questioned Kirlia. "We lost?"

"Yes. And Sentret, you were actually the first one out of the challenge. You'd been sleeping the whole time," said Duskull.

"All of you had, except Honchkrow and Pachirisu," added Totodile.

"Anyway, you guys are voting people off this episode! Monferno and Froslass of the Palkias beat you in this challenge," said Duskull. "Invincibility goes to Honchkrow, as promised, as well as the last three awake from the Dialgas: Zorua, Sneasel, and Swellow. And also, because we're nice people, invincibility goes to Pachirisu because we felt bad for her and she never actually truly fell asleep," Duskull continued.

"So vote, people, vote!" said Totodile.

**…**

**"Me and Pachirisu are voting for Machoke," said Plusle.**

**…**

**"My whole alliance is voting for Plusle, as his teammate Pachirisu is becoming a threat to Machoke," said Honchkrow. "And while I know Machoke isn't a necessary addition to my team, he is helpful if used the right way. Though I have a hunch we may be losing him this time regardless."**

**…**

**"Machoke," said Zorua, fuming. "After what he did to Pachirisu."**

**…**

**"I don't really want to vote off Plusle, and neither does Mawile," said Sneasel. "No, no, we have someone else in mind. Honchkrow's not going to like it, but he's going to have to deal with it."**

"And let the voting begin!" said Duskull. "Totodile, hand out ribbons to the first five Pokemon."

"Honchkrow, Pachirisu, Zorua, Sneasel, and Swellow…safe!" announced Totodile. They all came up to claim their ribbons.

"Also…Whimsicott, Kricketune, Makuhita, and Torchic," said Totodile. The four Pokemon came up to claim their ribbons.

"Mawile and Marshtomp." The two girls went up to claim their ribbons, leaving only Sentret, Munchlax, Kirlia, Plusle, and Machoke still sitting.

"Kirlia, Sentret, and Munchlax, you are the last three to receive no votes," announced Duskull.

The three of them went up to claim their ribbons, leaving only Plusle and Machoke sitting down.

"Now, one of you will be going home tonight. This Pokemon received votes from everybody except himself and one other Pokemon," said Duskull.

"I think we all know who it is," said Swellow.

Plusle flinched-Swellow had never really liked him. Machoke stood his ground.

"Plusle! You get the last ribbon! You only received two votes this episode. Machoke received an overwhelming fourteen votes."

"I was right," said Swellow. Plusle smiled in relief-Swellow hadn't been talking about him.

"Everybody except me and one other Pokemon voted for me! Then you're all losers!" Machoke sneered. "I hope this team fails every challenge without me, because I know it will."

"No, it won't!" shouted Plusle. Everyone turned towards him. "Throughout this entire game, you've been nothing but a big bully. You push around all the smaller campers like Pachirisu and me, and you act mean towards everybody. The only thing you enjoy about this competition is being able to scare all the other competitiors, instead of trying to make friends! It's no wonder that everybody voted you off of the competition if you're going to be such a huge jerk towards everybody! It's because you made everybody hate you!" Plusle screamed.

Everybody, including Machoke, stared at the small Electric-type in shock. Then, clapping and whistling arose, and his teammates cheered him on.

"That's right, Plusle!" shouted Zorua.

"He's right, Machoke! That's exactly what you've done!" said Kricketune.

"Ever heard of introducing yourself with a handshake rather than a punch?" Marshtomp put in sarcastically. "Tell him, Plusle!"

"Go, Plusle!" Kirlia and Whimsicott cheered at the same time.

Plusle smiled, then turned around and walked away from Machoke, who still stood there stunned.

**...**

**"Plusle's awesome, standing up for me like that!" cheered Pachirisu.  
**

**...**

**"I never thought I'd say it, but that little guy's tough," Makuhita admitted. "I didn't know he had it in him. I don't know if I could've done the same thing."  
**

**…**

**"What happened to Machoke was unfortunate...but I voted for Plusle, meaning that Sneasel and Mawile voted for Machoke," said Honchkrow. "Hmm…"**

**…**

**"I feel really bad…I've voted behind Glameow's and Honchkrow's backs this season," said a stressed Mawile. "But either way, I'm actually glad Machoke's gone."**

**…**

**Mightyena smiled. "That elimination ceremony couldn't have been better if I'd voted in it myself."**

**…**

**"Time for my last confessional," growled Machoke. "At least I know Honchkrow is on my side. I didn't deserve to go this early. I'm a strong player. It's all because everybody feels sympathy for that stupid squirrel. You know what? I don't care."**

**"I'm outta this dump. It's about time." He punches a hole through the door, and a squeak comes from outside. Machoke shouts "What do you think you're looking at, runt?"**

**…**

**"I'm so glad he's out of here," said Torchic, relieved. "I thought Machoke was gonna beat me up a minute ago. Go Plusle!"**

**…**

Machoke went down to the boat. For the first time, most campers were actually happy to see someone go. Very few Pokemon came down to the dock to see Machoke, and the only one who actually said anything to him was Honchkrow.

"Believe me, Sneasel and Mawile will be punished for their treachery. And I won't let Plusle, Pachirisu, or Mightyena get away with anything either," said Honchkrow darkly.

An evil glint appeared in Machoke's eye. "I wouldn't expect anything less."

...

Here it is, you're done reading it! Please leave comments in the comments box and votes on the poll on my profile page! I can't reinforce this enough!

So Machoke gets out because he's a scary bully (like Eva in the real TDI). Mightyena kicks butt by being nice enough to give her coffee to Pachirisu, and everyone feels bad for Pachirisu. Plusle kicks butt by standing up to Machoke. But now Honchkrow's out to get them. In the challenge, Froslass and Monferno just barely beat out Zorua in the challenge for another Palkias' win.

Also, Sneasel and Mawile finally are going out, and Kirlia and Kricketune are almost dating. Lots of relationships to cover in these last few episodes. But with Glameow attempting to interfere with Sneasel and Mawile's relationship for Sneasel's benefit. Where will this go? We shall see ;)

Monferno's finally a member of Team Shield! This has been a plan of mine for quite a while. He works well with the other three, anyway.

I'd been planning on getting Machoke eliminated for quite a few episodes, it was just a matter of when I could do it, and this episode seemed like as good a time as any. I mean, Eva in the real Total Drama Island was the second eliminated character, and for the local bully in my series I thought he did pretty well. But all bullies get stopped at some point or other, and now he's leaving.

Next Episode: With 32 competitors remaining, it's a nice even number for a BATTLE TOURNAMENT! Pokemon will be randomly paired up in battles, and the Pokemon who successfully wins every match is going to gain invincibility for their team. Who will win this challenge? The most powerful Pokemon, of course! Because this is POKEMON CHALLENGE ISLAND!

Though maybe the Dialgas will regret eliminating Machoke...

Machoke: Riolu929 has two requests for you. He says that you need to leave comments saying what you thought of this chapter or the story in general up to this point. He also says that you need to go to his profile and vote for who you think should win in his poll near the top of this page. He's given me permission to punch the face in of any person or Pokemon who doesn't obey these rules. So review and vote, or you're going to get beat up so much you won't be able to piece yourself back together.

Wouldn't go that far, Machoke, wouldn't go that far...but please, review and vote. I might not be able to control Machoke if he comes after you. Okay? Thanks everyone!


End file.
